Victoria Laney
Contributing Editor
Now you can beam yourself aboard the Enterprise at Star Trek: The Experience. The 70 million dollar attraction opens January 4 at the Las Vegas Hilton, which collaborated with Paramount Parks to develop the special effects.
'People have long dreamed being a part of the futuristic world of the 24th century -- of being aboard the USS Enterprise, firing photon torpedoes and battling aliens,' said Jane Cooper, president and chief executive officer or Paramount Parks.
A 22 minute experience takes visitors into exact replicas of the sets used in the Star Trek series and films. They receive mission briefings on the Bridge, then take a turbolift to the grand corridor. Then they board a shuttlecraft for a mission through space and time, said Timothy Chanaud of the Hilton.
'This is much more than a ride or a show, it is the Star Trek universe all around you, down to the tiniest detail,' said Dean Harrold, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Hilton.
The shuttlecraft are motion simulator platforms, identical to those used to train military pilots. The simulators have a six-axis system that surges, sways, heaves, pitches, rolls and yaws. It reduces motion sickness and gives a smoother and realistic ride than simulators at other attractions which have only three or four degrees of freedom, he said.
The illusion of flight is created by a unique motion picture. Rhythm & Hues studios spent 13 months creating the four minute film. Parts were filmed using a special camera mounted on a helicopter flying over the Las Vegas Strip. It was the first production ever to completely close a significant portion of the strip, he said.
The helicopter made ten passes over the Strip, flying 70 miles per hour on an erratic path to simulate being attacked and fired upon by hostile aliens. Digital artists accelerated the footage, and added ships, phaser fire, and explosions. A special distortion program keeps the images from bending on the 60-foot, 160-degree screen that surrounds the shuttlecraft, he said.
'The 'prime directive' from Paramount Parks was to make the physical environment one magnitude better than what was shown on the screen,' said Herman Zimmerman, design consultant. 'Making this transition from screen images to the reality of a walk-through, hands-on adventure aboard the Starship Enterprise has been an interesting challenge, a great privilege, and at times, a heavy responsibility.'
The attraction can accommodate 1000 visitors an hour. It begins at The History of the Future, a self-guided museum tour that displays more than 200 Star Trek costumes, weapons, special effects and props. It ends at the Deep Space Nine promenade where visitors experience life in a twenty-forth century space station. Quark's bar and restaurant serves 'Hamborgers' or 'Tribble Tenders,' which taste like chicken.
Shops offer Starfleet merchandise, including authentic Klingon uniforms. Thirteen Star Trek books are sold every minute in the United States. Star Trek conventions are held every weekend of every year, in at least four different cities, said a press release.
Star Trek episodes are shown in 75 countries. Pocket books have published more than 145 works based on Star Trek. They have been translated into more than 15 languages, including Chinese, Norwegian, Hungarian, and Hebrew.
During a special Comdex preview, the press found craftsmen working over-time to put the finished touches on the impressive sets. Be sure to visit the stainless steel rest rooms, where aliens are reflected in holographic images in the mirrors.
The 65,000 square-foot experience will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Introductory admission will be $9.95. For information about special opening activities, and how to purchase opening day tickets, visit the website at www.startrekexp.com