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A Visit to Star Trek The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton
Rate it! Votes (0) | Comments (0) By Mitch Mandell Posted August 6th, 2007 FabulousFoods.com Recommends: Star Trek Movie Set (The Motion Picture/ The Wrath of Khan/ The Search for Spock/ The Voyage Home/ The Final Frontier/ The Undiscovered Country/ Generations/ First Contact/ Insurrection/ Nemesis), by , (, Paramount)	Star Trek Movie Set (The Motion Picture/ The Wrath of Khan/ The Search for Spock/ The Voyage Home/ The Final Frontier/ The Undiscovered Country/ Generations/ First Contact/ Insurrection/ Nemesis)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA -- It was 3 years in the making and approximately 70 million dollars to construct....but the long awaited Star Trek: The Experience has arrived in our galaxy... or have we finally arrived in the 24th century?

However you want to look at it, you definitely don't want to miss this mega-attraction located in a large wing of the Las Vegas Hilton. The joint venture between Paramount Studios and the Las Vegas Hilton brings an entirely new dimension to the meaning of Star Trek.

Upon entering the area, you realize you aren't in Kansas anymore. Once through the Star Quest Casino and up the stairs into the Deep Space Nine Promenade, you'll find above you giant models of three impressive starships: the original Enterprise, the newest Enterprise and a Klingon Bird of Prey. Directly in front is Quark's Bar, where you can eat dinner, have a drink, and mingle with Klingons, Ferengi, and Bejorans.

Some tasty items off the menu to be sampled are Glop on a stick, Sulu Salad, Class M Pizza, Rom's root beer, and the "Red Alert" drink, a steaming, frothing, Warp Core Breach featuring various blends of alcohol. Don't let the names fool you, the food here is quite good. Just be careful, you never know when The Borg will beam in to make you one of their own.

Other features in this sector include various stores hosting the world's largest collection of Star Trek paraphernalia for sale. If you are a die hard trekkie looking for those hard to find gifts, Star Trek: The Experience is the place to find them. They have everything - Klingon High Council Wool jackets, Starfleet Uniforms, desk accessories, earrings, watches, and yes, even tribbles.

The main reason to go to the Star Trek The Experience is the actual "ride." You start at the "History of the Future" museum which winds you down a complete chronology of all Star Trek episodes and movies. They even weave in real history such as the first flight into space and the moon landing to "authenticate" the progression of man through history, all the way to the last episode of DS9 and Voyager.

Even included are the dates of birth of all pertinent star fleet officers. We couldn't help but think, "you know, if we were all to die tomorrow, and another civilization found this "chronology" of man's existence, it would completely throw them off from our actual history!" I guess that is a kudos to the individuals who created this timeline.

There's also an extensive collection of original Star Trek Communicators, wardrobes, phasers, and other Star Trek gadgets and gizmos used by starfleet command and aliens. Make sure you see all that you want to see in the museum before entering the ride, as once your journey has ended you may not re-enter the museum. Expect to spend about 45 minutes there before passing through the gate to the ride itself. The Museum section is designed to let people take their time looking at the various displays, so don't feel rushed to get into line. It is all a part of the experience.

Once you get around to getting in the actual line, the experience takes approximately 25 minutes. I used the word "ride" earlier in quotes because what makes this attraction unique is the way you are included in the storyline. After passing through the gate to just another motion simulator ride you are unexpectedly "beamed up" to the Starship Enterprise and informed that you have just been transported to the 24th century. Somebody in your group is the ancestor of Jean Luc Picard, Captain of the Starship and long known pain in the neck to the Klingon Empire. In an effort to rid the Klingons of Captain Picard forever, the Klingons have created a rift in the space-time continuum and come to our time to try and kill this relative. You are literally beamed into the future to evade them.

I urge you not take this beaming thing lightly. One moment you are in a small square room with a metal floor and the next you are in a large round room with a brightly lit colored floor. The effect or the beaming, I'm not quite sure which, is outstanding. Everyone is in uniform and in character. Your group is debriefed of the situation and you are escorted to an exact re-creation of the bridge of the Enterprise where Commander Riker and Engineer LaForge explain the situation further. You then board the turbolift. While inside, the ship is attacked by Klingons, complete with ship rocking force. Safely hurried through the corridors of the Enterprise you arive at the shuttle bay where you are told there is not much time, and must board the shuttle before another attack. This is the point you get on the actual motion ride. It is one of the more convincing motion simulator rides I have ever been on, words really can't capture the moment. I assure you, just as the story lines were great in Star Trek, this experience pays the same amount of detail to the right and left side of your brain.

Star Trek: The Experience is a great time. I was pleasantly surprised at how much attention to detail they put into the attraction. If you are remotely near Las Vegas and have even a passing interest in space, or Star Trek, I strongly urge you to go to the Las Vegas Hilton for a truly galactic and engaging experience. The following section is for all you die hard Trekkies. What follows is various information and statistics on Star Trek the series and the making of this attraction. I found it interesting and thought you might as well. Enjoy.

• All sets used in the attraction and in the production of the simulator film are exact replicas, constructed on a 1:1 scale, of the sets used in the Star Trek series and films
• There are more than 15,000 stars in the attraction's starfields.
• The attraction uses a half mile (2,640 feet) of fluorescent light tubing and a quarter mile (1,320 feet) of neon light tubing
• More than 300 different lighting instruments are used in the attraction
• Ten miles of audio cable and more than 300 speakers are used in the upper level (the voyage through space)
• There are two domed theaters both containing 2 simulator rides and each simulator theater is 60 feet across and weighs more than 9,000 pounds.
• Exactly 2,150 screws are used in the floor of the transporter room 24 laserdisc players and 28 video monitors and projectors are used in the attraction
• 22 computers are required to operate the attraction
• The first episode of Star Trek debuted September 8, 1966
• Star Trek, the original series, is the single most successful show in syndication history
• The four Star Trek series are seen in more than 75 countries and have been translated into dozens of languages
• Star Trek: The Next Generation received 11 emmy awards during its 7 -year run
• 13 Star Trek books are sold every minute in the United States
• Forty titles in the Star Trek novel series have made the New York Times bestseller list
• Star Trek conventions are held every weekend of every year, in at least four different cities attracting more than 1 million fans worldwide
• In 1976 the U.S. space shuttle - the Enterprise - was given its name after NASA received over 400,000 requests from Star Trek fans
• Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton is the only place in the world where the world of Star Trek exists in three dimensions.

Note from Cheri:
On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I noticed that the pricing structure for this attraction has changed. It used to cost approximately $10.00 to visit Star Trek The Experience, a fair deal. The pricing has now changed to a whopping $24.95 for an all day pass. Granted this price is great if you are a true trekkie who wants to go through again and again, however, we wish the policy would change to at least allow for a one time option.

Check for hotel packages too.  We recently stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton and got free passes to Star trek: The Experience as part of the deal.

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