Nerd Factor 9: To Boldly Go Where No Nerd Has Gone Before... (Star Trek The Experience)

Member Name: Teena2003

Product:	Star Trek The Experience
Date:	26/04/06 (995 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: haven for Star Trek fans

Disadvantages: expensive, for fans only, not enough to see or do

Okay, I have to admit that it was a bit of a trade off. I agreed to accompany my partner Michael and his 16-year old son Philip to the Star Trek thingy and they agreed to come with me to see the Hoover Dam. Well, I kept my side of the bargain while they decided to duck out of the trip to the dam with the flimsiest of excuses: “8.15 is waaaaaaaaaaay too early for a Sunday morning”.

We’re in Las Vegas and anything’s possible to why not a place for Star Trek enthusiasts? My partner and son are Star Trek fans, not obsessive, just fans (Michael still prefers Bablylon 5 and I think Bruce Boxleitner is very cute). I, personally, only liked the episode with the Tribbles from the original Star Trek but must admit I watched most of the Next Generation (TNG) episodes. I’ve never really been a fan of any of the other incarnations i.e. Voyager, Deep Space 9 or Enterprise but found myself dipping onto Voyager on the odd occasion. I could never stand Deep Space 9 (DS9) or Enterprise.

WHERE?

The Star Trek Experience is found at the Las Vegas Hilton, off Strip but still within walking distance. If you are staying at the north end of the Strip you may just have to cross the road and walk down one of the side road to get there. For anyone else, if you decide to walk, the best road is the one opposite Circus Circus, next to the Riviera (bus stop Circus Circus on the Deuce bus) and you are there in no time. If you have money to spare you can take the monorail to the Las Vegas Hilton. They have their own designated stop. Single fare on the monorail is $5.00 (all day ticket is $15.00)

Arriving at the Hilton, just follow the signs towards Star Trek The Experience and you will get there without problems. The casino at the Hilton appears to be split into two section and ‘The Experience’ is situated next to the casino floor furthest away from the main entrance.

HOW MUCH?

The Star Trek Experience is not free of charge, it would be lovely if it was but alas, it isn’t. How much you want to spend is down to how much of a nerd you are – sorry, how much of a fan you are.

There are plenty of ways to book tickets. You can just turn up at the ticket office where they are happy to part you from $38.00 (plus tax) for a two rides ticket. If you book online in advance you can save $5.00 (the same applies if you are a Nevada resident or OAP) and they will let you in for $33.50 plus tax.

The best value is still one of the half price ticket booths you find in Las Vegas - Tix 4 Tonight. There’s one downtown at the Golden Nugget Casino, another one’s at the Fashion Show Mall and the third I am aware of is near the MGM and Harley Davidson Café. You can get tickets for as little as $19.00 plus $4.50 booking fee levied by Tix 4 Tonight.

If you are a number one nerd, sorry fan, you can book the Behind the Scenes tour as well as the normal Experience ticket. There are four tours every day and you have to add another $31.00 on top of the ticket if you buy at the ticket office, online or if you book with Tix 4 Tonight, the combined ticket will be $39.00 plus $4.50 booking fee. Please check with the exhibition when the behind the scenes tour start, the last one from what I am aware is at 7pm but please don’t quote me.

Anyhow, when you book with Tix 4 Tonight, the normal ticket voucher is valid for two days, the ‘behind the scenes tour’ voucher has to be used on the same day. Just go to the Hilton Star Trek Experience ticket desk and exchange you voucher for an admission ticket.

THE EXPERIENCE:

The ticket you are given comes with two tear-off portions, one on each side. The Star Trek Experience has two rides and while you are there, you are allowed to ride both rides as many times as you fancy, not just once each. When you enter the exhibit one part of the tear-off ticket is taken (and your hand stamped for re-entry with invisible, glow-in-the-dark ink) and you are told when the next ride will start.

When we entered we were told that “The Klingon Encounter” would start within 20 minutes and we were welcome to study the exhibits in the museum.

I shot a few photos of the different Star Trek models hanging off the ceiling while Michael and Philip went ahead and studied the time line of space travel as well as exhibition cases with anything to do with early space travel. The interesting part of the museum starts when we get into more familiar territory with the mention of a lot of the Star Trek characters, all the way from Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) from Enterprise to Voyager’s Captain Janeway and beyond. The other side of the walk through museum has large cabinets with both, original Star Trek items or replicas of what was used in the TV series and movies. Unfortunately everything is behind glass and you can't touch or play with anything there.

It depends very much on how much of a fan you are and whether you want to read all the information given. Personally, I found the wardrobe pieces much more interesting than the actual time line.

If you are lucky you will encounter a number of ‘aliens’ from other planets who are stationed on the Hilton Las Vegas Star Trek Station. I personally came across one of those blue people, an Andorian and a Klingon woman who I couldn’t understand what she was saying as I don’t speak Klingon but I assume it had something to do with the cup of coffee I was carrying. A Star Trek nerd, sorry, fan probably would have understood what she said. And if you were interested in a picture with these ‘aliens’, they do pose for pictures with you, not so much in the museum but definitely downstairs in the bar and restaurant.

KLINGON ENCOUNTER RIDE:

At the end of the museum you will end up in a holding area for the rides, the Klingon Encounter is to the right the Borg Invasion 4D is to the left. Each ride leaves a couple of times an hour.

If you have been to UK and US theme parks you will be familiar with his kind of ride. It’s not a roller coaster, it’s a sit down, assault on the senses kind of ride in most cases. Universal Studios has the Back to the Future ride, Disney’s MGM Studios in Orlando had the Star Wars ride, they are all based on the same principle. All participants are sat down in a seat and a film is played on the screen in front of them. Each and every time something happens on screen and the vehicle you are supposedly sit in moves, you will feel the movement – hence it’s not recommended for people who suffer from motion sickness.

Anyhow, The Klingon Encounter is based on this principle, only with a slight difference, before you get to the ride something goes wrong and you are transported onto the bridge of the Enterprise and meet a few of Next Generation characters – well, sort of, at least on screen, before you are whisked away to the actual ride.

The ride itself, while quite interesting and amusing, is just one of the run of the mill attraction and as a seasoned thrill rider I must say that I was rather underwhelmed – as were my travel companions who’s expected more.

The Way Out leads you through the souvenir shop – what else – and then into the area known as Quarks Bar & Restaurant where you can either sit down for meal or enjoy a drink at the bar. All food and drinks have out of this world names but luckily the translation can be found underneath so you at least know what you are ordering.

In most cases you will have time before the start of the next ride (Borg Invasion 4D). Down here in the bar, souvenir shop area will also find the entrance to the photo studio. Yes, you can book yourself into a session to sit in the Captain’s Chair or have a close encounter with the Borg in the regeneration chamber. One of those souvenir photos is $14.99 plus tax, two will cost $24.99 plus tax.

BORG INVASION 4D RIDE:

After picking up a lukewarm coffee at one of the Hilton Hotel coffee shops we re-entered the Star Trek museum. The second half of the tear-off portion of the ticket was taken away and we were told that the Borg ride would start within 10 minutes (“Please feel free to study the exhibits in the museum while you wait”) and it was a little boring walking past the same museum exhibits again to join the queue for the next ride.

At some point we were overtaken by the Backstage Tour people. They all had a special tag around their necks so they could be identified – and no ordinary visitor could join in, but just for fun we tagged along for a couple of minutes to see what it was all about in the museum bit. That group had about 20 people in it and OH MY GAWD, they knew everything Star Trek, what episode a certain pod was used in, dress was worn…. Talk about obsessive … It got too spooky and we left them to their own devices.

Anyhow, the Borg Invasion 4D ride started and we meet emergency medical holowhatsit from Voyager who explains that one of us carries the gene that will defeat the Borg and make everyone immune to their probing when the station gets attacked by Borg and everyone is ushered out towards a shuttle under armed guard. Nice interaction with the set I have to say, a little wooden in places but they’re not there to win Oscars but get you to the next part of the attraction. Whatever you do, don’t forget you 3D glasses (or security visors as they call them) and follow the instructions.

If you have been to Thorpe Park’s “Pirate’s in 4D”, Disney’s Animal Kingdom “It’s a bug’s life” or Disney’s MGM Studios “Muppets 3D” you will know what’s going to coming next, a 3D movie with special effects built into the theatre so it actually feels like you are part of the whole experience. Without taking anything away, this is actually one of the better simulation rides I have been on and it caused much hilarity amongst my fellow riders, too.

Again, the Way Out was directly through the same souvenir shop and past Quarks Bar & Restaurant as before. I was interested in the rather cute shot glasses they had, triangular and held in a metal spirally holder but at $10 a piece I thought better of it and in the end didn’t buy anything.

WAS IT WORTH IT?

Before we entered the attraction there was a sign saying that you should allow at least two hours to enjoy the attraction. Well, depending on how much of a Star Trek fan you are, you can take anything from just as long as it takes for the two rides to all day. Remember, you had you hand stamped on the way in, so even if you go away for a few hours but later in the day fancy another ride on the Klingon Encounter or Borg Invasion or feel you overlooked something in the Museum, just pop back and they will let you back in.

I actually wonder if people actually go back for more if they are normal people, not die-hard fans? I watched people walk away from the ticket office in disgust when they heard they had to pay about $40+ for a ticket.

If I had paid the full price I would have been absolutely seething at the end of it. There is no excuse for charging such and extraordinary amount of money for two rides and a rather average and boring museum – probably highly interesting if you are a fan but not the average punter. We paid $23.50 per person and I still feel cheated. My partner’s son liked it and would have happily gone through again to do the rides again if the wait hadn’t been so long. Michael and I decided that we are just too old now to enjoy this kind of attraction – although other thrill rides we never seem to grow out of.

To summarise, the Star Trek Experience is a fun place to visit if you are a big fan of the show – all of the incarnations count. If you are a casual viewer I was, think twice whether or not to spend all that money on two rides you might find very average if you are a thrill ride person. I suggest you completely avoid the place if you are not a fan or not really know much about the series and movies because it will bore the pants off of you.

But whatever category you fall into, never ever get suckered into paying the full price, it’s not worth it, never ever. There’s no reason they have to charge that much. Go and get your tickets half price at Tix 4 Tonight, it’s more likely to be worth it than when you pay full price.

For anyone who’s interested, the Hilton Las Vegas will host the Star Trek Convention in August this year.

Prices are correct at time of submission of the review. All prices are in US dollars, exchange rates may change over time. Exchange rate when trip was taken was £1.00 = $1.71

I give the attraction 3 Stars only as it does not hold the interest of the casual fan for too long. Of course, die-hard fans will rate this 5 stars but thinking of the average visitor who may be dithering, not knowing whether or not to go, I doubt it will ever rate more than three or four stars at most out of 5. There’s just not enough for the price they are charging.

For more information visit www.startrekexp.com or contact

Star Trek: The Experience
Las Vegas Hilton
3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas NV 89109

Tel: 1-888-GO BOLDLY
Tel: 1-722-723-5111

© Teena2003

Summary: Anything and everything Star Trek under one roof