How the Starship Enterprise Almost Landed in Las Vegas (2016) | Hacker News Reader

How the Starship Enterprise Almost Landed in Las Vegas (2016)

hollywoodreporter.com

We renewed our marriage vows in a ceremony on the "bridge", including TNG uniforms in true nerd fashion just before "Star Trek: The Experience" was shut down. It was very well done.

Although no where near the scale of the project in this article was still a gem. I stayed at the LV Hilton more than once specifically so this could be the hotel bar close at hand. Had a full scale Enterprise been created, I would have visited Vegas many more times.

Circular reference! This link started showing up again because someone found this video on YouTube showing some development and testing on the Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBdipFF3K7c

(Spoiler alert if you don't want to know how the transporter trick worked....)_

Someone should still push for it now, I fail to see why it wouldn't be a huge success. It would be a major attraction and such a cool experience!

I've wanted to build a Sci-Fi themed Bed & Breakfast for a while. The idea would be to build the "ship" under ground, in a hilltop in the middle of nowhere. It would isolate the rooms from the outside sound (trees and wind and animals can still be noisy). Lowerdeck portholes would have large, LED lightboards shadowboxed behind them to draw stars streaking by (I know it's not physically accurate, but it's still part of the Star Trek visual). The "bridge" at the top of the hill could have an observation skylight/porthole like the Enterprise has. On a clear night, you'd look up and out and see nothing but stars. There'd be at least one, large, CAVE VR system for a holodeck. We'd hire one of those bartenders who mixes dry ice into drinks. Maybe even setup a 3D food printer.

The Flying Saucer restaurant in Niagara Falls has been around for 40 years serving great diner food. You can't tell very well from the photos, but the original design was shaped like a flying saucer, and the interior decor and menus are all themed.

I thought about a Star Trek themed burger joint called "To Boldly Grill." The burger would be the saucer section and the fries would be on each side and like nacelles.

It's super cheesey but I think it would have worked in the 90s. I have no idea how hard it would be to get legal permissions for something like that.

You had me at super cheesy burger.

Well, here’s a cozy Titan II missile silo for sale: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/980-N-Sibyl-Rd-Benson-AZ-...

For real though...I’d stay here—lemme know.

I just had another thought... the parking could be in the shuttle bay, in the back of the lower fuselage, jutting out of the slope of the hill. You could then take a "turbolift" up to the saucer section, where the rooms would be.

And I've always thought one of those mid-90s Chevy Luminas would be an ideal base to modify to make look like a shuttlecraft.

EDIT: yeah, kinda like this https://mikeshouts.com/minivan-turned-into-star-trek-shuttle... (though they used a Ford Aerostar)

>The "bridge" at the top of the hill could have an observation skylight/porthole like the Enterprise has. On a clear night, you'd look up and out and see nothing but stars.

But they would be stationary? And at any other time you'd see clouds / blue sky / planes and birds flying overhead. Seems like it would break the immersion a bit.

Yes. That would have been worth a trip on its own.

Though it is a lesser priority, I'd still enjoy seeing the full-size Gundam they're building in Japan.

https://soranews24.com/2020/08/07/japans-new-life-size-gunda...

> https://soranews24.com/2020/08/07/japans-new-life-size-gunda...

I saw the Unicorn Gundam at Gundam Base in Odaiba and thought that was sweet, this just means I'll need another trip. Hopefully we'll be good to go in a year or two.

There was a Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas that shut down because it didn't get enough numbers. So I'd be wary of assuming a project like this would be a huge success.

I'm a fan of Star Trek but I have to admit it doesn't have anywhere near the level of cultural force as something like Star Wars, or Marvel movies. For shame.

Yeah but the Star Trek Experience was not a full sized starship. I'd think the absurdity of it all would bring in a lot of non-trekkies as well.

> There was a Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas that shut down because it didn't get enough numbers. So I'd be wary of assuming a project like this would be a huge success.

Wasn't it also pretty far from the strip?

Its on the north end of the Strip in a pretty run down but slowly improving area. Its far from all the more popular and attractive resorts starting at Wynn and all the way south to Mandalay Bay.

Vegas is moving away from theme type properties and moving toward modern (CityCenter, Wynn) and cultural/experiential (Resorts World). The Enterprise would've been more likely to be successful in the time it was being considered, when families were the primary target and more extreme themes like the Strat, Excalibur, and Circus Circus were attractive to that demographic.

I personally feel that Vegas will slowly become irrelevant to regular people over time, unless they keep bringing in more big yearly events to sustain tourism like EDC. In two words, event exclusivity. The focus for the last decade or so has been on just that, building more arenas and venues like MSG Sphere to host events in ways and capacities that are mostly unmatched elsewhere.

Everything else that worked like gaming, clubs, Cirque type shows, restaurants, and some conventions are slowly becoming bigger draws elsewhere over time. Vegas still has all these and is a leader, but they have been in decline IMO. Other destinations have been able to compete because Vegas resort corporations have price gouged to extreme levels like resort fees, parking fees, and $400/night rates. Historically, Vegas was cheaper for those things with better perks for gaming or staying at certain resorts.

Anyway, it makes sense to me that the Star Trek Experience happened at the scale and timeline that it did. It was pretty well done but couldn't really advance or be revitalized in any way worth the investment. You'd be more likely to see $ spent toward something involving Marvel or Star Wars but guess who bought those up already and doesn't operate in Vegas.

I was pretty confused by the article and thought it was talking about

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Experience

Or at least would mention it.

Very confusing but appears to have nothing to do with the story other than also being Trek and also being in Vegas.

It does mention it. Gary Goddard, who came up with the concept, later went on to build the Star Trek Experience. It's right at the end of the article.

Aaaaaaagh! Don't tell me that! Ignorance is bliss, here. Such a disappointment.

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