Trek beaming out of Vegas?

It looks like Star Trek: The Experience might be leaving the Las Vegas Hilton. From the LVRJ:

The lease on the biggest nerd magnet since the International Consumer Electronics Show expires at the end of the year, and a spokesperson for owners Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. told the Web site TrekMovie.com “there are currently no plans to renew” it.

If Cedar Fair were to beam Experience out of the Hilton, it could mark the demise of a 10-year run that has made Las Vegas the center of the universe for fans of the seminal science fiction franchise.
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The lease on the biggest nerd magnet since the International Consumer Electronics Show expires at the end of the year, and a spokesperson for owners Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. told the Web site TrekMovie.com “there are currently no plans to renew” it.

If Cedar Fair were to beam Experience out of the Hilton, it could mark the demise of a 10-year run that has made Las Vegas the center of the universe for fans of the seminal science fiction franchise.
Experience Ending: Hilton Star Trek attraction may seek out new life elsewhere

The Experience isn’t cheap: it costs $37.99 for two rides and access to the museum, which I think is the most interesting part of the whole place.

It would be a shame to see the Experience close, since it obviously caters to a demographic that many other Vegas outlets don’t:

TrekMovie.com editor-in-chief Anthony Pascale stopped short of saying Experience would bolt, but he said it didn’t look good for Trekkies who make a pilgrimage to the Hilton as part of their Las Vegas vacations.

“It is the premiere, and right now only, live Star Trek attraction in the world,” Pascale said. “A lot of nerd weddings go on at that place.”

My biggest problem with ST:TE is not with the attraction itself, but with the Hilton’s SpaceQuest casino. That’s the section of the casino that surrounds ST:TE. I don’t think they did a very good job of giving the SpaceQuest casino a Star Trek look. It’s just generic space-looking, with no design elements from any of the Star Trek shows or movies at all. And out of all of the artifacts from the show they could have used in the display cases, the most prominent one they used was the salt monster from an early episode of the original series–not exactly a recognizable icon. When you imagine the potential, it’s a real let-down.

That being said, I’d like to see the Hilton and Cedar Fair not only keep ST:TE, but upgrade it. I think it’s just good business. You’d have to work pretty hard to find an attraction that would have the same immediate draw as a Star Trek one–you figure each Trekkie who comes to Vegas has to visit it at least once. In an industry that is warming up to the value of branding, an association with one of the entertainment world’s most recognizable brands seems to be a slam dunk.

I don’t think so, you might say. The Trek franchise is moribund–the last show went off the air three years ago. Yes, but I think that it’s due for a revival. There’s a new movie in production, due to open next May. And it’s a complete re-start of the franchise: J. J. Abrams, the creative force behind Lost, is directing it, so I’d expect something really, really good. Closing the attraction a few months before a major movie’s released just seems so obviously short-sighted to me. Why not just extend the agreement for another year, at the very least, or commit some money to tweak the museum and, just maybe, develop a new ride that ties in with the movie?

I’ve got a can’t miss idea: they should add a theater and stage a new show: a musical extravaganza version of the vaunted Trek classic A Night in Sickbay.