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Casulty of Trekkie entropic ennuity

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http://trekmovie. com/2008/ 07/01/star- trek-the- experience- closure-follow- up-cbs-hints- at-a-future/

 

Star Trek The Experience Closure Follow-up + CBS Hints At A Future

July 1, 2008

by Anthony Pascale

 

On Sunday TrekMovie first broke the news that Star Trek The Experience

in Las Vegas will close this September. Today we have a follow-up with

statements and exclusive comments on the closure from Cedar Fair and

CBS. Plus we have reactions from some of the fans who were trying to

save The Experience as well as Borg 4D (and Voyager) star Robert Picardo.

 

Yesterday Cedar Fair, who acquired Star Trek The Experience when it

purchased Paramount Parks in 2006, issued a brief press release stating:

 

Star Trek: The Experience, Las Vegas' premier interactive

attraction will conclude its historic 11 year run at the Las Vegas

Hilton on September 1, 2008.

 

Since 1998, millions of guests have gone boldly into the 24th

century to battle Klingons, Borg, and other hostile aliens. The

original complex featured the Klingon Encounter, an interactive

adventure and ride. In 2004 Borg Invasion 4-D was introduced and the

Secrets Unveiled Backstage Tour was unveiled in 2005, making Star

Trek: the Experience the stomping grounds for fans around the galaxy.

 

Chad Boutte, Operations Manager and Director of Marketing for Star

Trek The Experience is quoted in the release giving STTE a Trekkian

farewell:

 

Hailing frequencies open. We'd like to thank all the fans and

friends of Star Trek, whose constant and amazing support we've enjoyed

throughout our tenure at the Las Vegas Hilton. As we boldly go into

the futures that await, know that we take your love of Star Trek: The

Experience with us. We share the memories of time spent in the most

unique place in the Galaxy, and we carry those memories into our

futures with us. Live long, and prosper.

 

Hailing frequencies closed.

 

Boutte also talked to TrekMovie and said he was personally saddened by

the closure. He joined STTE before the Cedar Fair acquisition and his

first job there was as a Borg Drone, before he assimilated his way

into management.

 

Boutte says that that due to the closure he expects the Experience to

get a big influx of fans wanting to see it and Quarks Bar for the last

time. In fact his has already started, and some fans are even trying

to take home makeshift souvenirs, especially menus from Quark's

restaurant. Boutte is confident that they can handle the influx, even

during the August convention, noting that they handled over 6,000

visitors on the 10th Anniversary in January (the free tickets for

Nevada residents helped that one).

 

Boutte says that what he will miss most of all are the 160 full and

part time employees, of which he stated "I have never worked with a

more enthusiastic and devoted crew in my life." Boutte said that even

though the staff were prepared for it to potentially close, many took

the news hard. Boutte hopes that they can do some special events

between now and the closing on September 1st, and he is going to be

looking to his dedicated team for ideas so they can be involved in how

The Experience says goodbye.

 

CBS holding out hope?

Although CBS Consumer Products, who handle Star Trek licensing, has

confirmed that Star Trek The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton is to

close in September and that their relationship with Cedar Fair will

end by December 31st, there still appears to be hope for future. A

spokesperson for CBS Consumer Products tells TrekMovie:

 

We're extremely proud of the 10-year run Star Trek The Experience

had in Las Vegas. We're currently exploring several options to

continue The Experience for the public to enjoy for years to come.

 

The spokesperson would not provide any detail on what these options

are. However, the spokesperson did confirm that the original props and

costumes at the Experience (which are owned by CBS), will not be put

up for auction. It was indicated that these would be needed if The

Experience is to find a new home sometime in the future.

 

Picardo will miss being `attraction'

Robert Picardo (VOY: The Doctor), who appears in the Borg 4-D motion

simulator ride which was installed in 2004, is also sorry to see The

Experience shut down. As reported by SyFyPortal, on a conference call

promoting his new role on Stargate Atlantis the actor lamented:

 

It breaks my heart a little bit to no longer be my own theme park

ride. Once you have an action figure for years, there are only a few

ways to go up, and being a theme park attraction is one of the only ones.

 

Fans not surprised but hard to let go

Since TrekMovie first reported that the future of The Experience was

in doubt, many fans and Experience regulars have been trying to do

what they can to save it. One of the more active ones was Steven

Biggs, who been has posting contact information of people at CBS and

Cedar Fair at various forums around the net to try and gin up support.

Biggs tells TrekMovie that he has been campaigning to keep it open

"because it was the last bastion of Star Trek and a great presentation

of the whole 40 history of Trek, and I just didn't want to see it go."

Biggs, who worked at The Experience, starting as a loader at the

opening in 1998 and ending his career as a Klingon in 2002, visits

once or twice a year since moving to California, but has been going

more often recently due to the closure. Even though he has been a

strong advocate for The Experience, Biggs says he understands it was a

business decision and he has now given up on his 'save The Experience'

campaign, saying "I was hoping to nudge them, but now that it is

decided…that' s it."

 

Brad Siegel, an advertising sales executive from New Jersey and

frequent out of town visitor, has also been actively advocating The

Experience. He tells TrekMovie that that he will mostly miss the

community that grew up around The Experience, especially at Quark's

Restaurant, noting:

 

There is no place like home at Quark's. Bartenders Jeff and

Shannon provided more than beverage service. They offered great

conversation and companionship that truly made a visit to Quark's

something special. And then there are the characters - among the best

- an Andorian named Kastron and a Borg named 3 of 6. Where else on the

planet Earth could you turn around and see Klingons, Andorians or

Ferengie getting along side by side with Humans?

 

The fans who will be impacted the most will be those who live in and

around Las Vegas. One group that will especially feel the pain is the

60-member USS Las Vegas fan club who hold their monthly meetings at

Quarks Bar. `Captain' Paul Walker tells TrekMovie that his members

were all regulars for both the attraction and Quark's and well known

to the staff. Walker says they are "saddened" over the closing and

they aren't sure where they would go next for their meetings. However,

Walker says even though he is "discouraged, " he is not surprised that

The Experience is closing.

 

I understand the economics, the attendance has dropped. As others

have commented, they are not advertising it. They are not promoting

it. Cedar Fair bought it but doesn't know what to do with it.

 

Walker feels that the lack of promotion, rising admission prices (Gen.

Admission is now $49.99), and especially the lack of updates were all

factors in why attendance has fallen. He and his fellow regulars feel

that if The Experience were to be extended, some things would have to

change, noting:

 

Klingon Encounter is so outdated that there is no reason to ride

it again. The Las Vegas cityscape footage is totally outdated…and in

Quark's they haven't changed menu enough to keep it fresh… All in all

if they were to keep it open they would have invest a lot more capital

in refurbishing and new rides, and also make it more in line with the

upcoming movie focusing on the Original Series.

 

Let's hope that if CBS does find a new home for Star Trek The

Experience, they take this time to revamp it to reflect the entire

franchise, and better capitalize on the both the Classic Trek as well

as the new `Abrams era' of Trek.

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