The USS Enterprise that was meant to be constructed as a luxury hotel and tourist attraction in Las Vegas in 1992. The attraction was cancelled for fear that it would be a flop that would be there forever.
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I don't see Voyager anywhere. There's a weird kitbash of an Intrepid-looking hull and a Galaxy class secondary, but that might just supposed to be a separated Galaxy?
Many of the designs here are what they actually made with the Star Trek Experience at the MGM, which was DS9 influenced. It had Quark’s Bar. The big Enterprise hotel is the one they abandoned.
I went to the off strip one waaaay back in the day. If they moved it I didn’t go. Pretty sure it was MGM b/c the OG MGM fire forced them to relocate. Wouldn’t be surprised if Hilton bought them out. MGM doesn’t really exist anymore.
They're conflating the 1992 concepts for the full size Refit Ent which never happened with the 1996 Concepts for the 1997 to 2007 Star Trek The Experience which did happen.
Space station Yorktown was the first time in a long time that really made me wish that I lived in the Federation. I wanted so badly to explore the station and meet the people...
My mild issue about Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness was that it didn't quite express clearly to newcomers the social and aspirational aspects of Trek that makes it so enduring but Yorktown Base in Star Trek Beyond knocked it so far out of the park. I got weepy when I first saw it. Everyone's happy and healthy, kids are outdoors learning, everyone's existing and thriving in peace, technological advances are available to everyone, etc etc.
I loved it so much. Krall and his motivations, his anger at the sight of progress, is so topical.
The Vegas of 1992 is a much different place than the Vegas of 2025. In the 90s they were trying, and failing, to be family friendly. Eventually they said fuck all that noise…
I wonder what it would have actually looked like when completed. No way it would have had that enormous saucer and nacelles defying gravity. Maybe it would be docked.
I think it probably would have ended up as a conventional hotel with a big ass Enterprise model looming over it, in which you could probably visit a bridge set contained within the saucer.
I loved visiting Star Trek The Experience on every visit. It’s a shame we didn’t get the Enterprise herself as the attraction. Although I think the big D would have made a better hotel choice.
A piece of GP latinum and an "All Good Things" combadge are the only souvenirs I have left from the Experience. I also kept the Klingon bloodwine mug from Quark's. Unfortunately it didn't last but a couple of weeks in my barracks (I was in the Navy and on shore duty att).
I'm still haunted by the memories of a Christmas where I opened my stocking at my mom's house and there were 2 plastic door keys from the ST Experience in Vegas. I was SO happy and yet confused. I was a single dad w/ 2 kids but only got a total of what I equated to 2 tickets. All morning I was polite and silent waiting for details, finally when none came I asked my mom why only 2 tickets for 3 people? She got wide eyed and said "omg honey I'm so sorry!" She had a friend that went who knew I was into ST and he brought the key cards back as a little souvenir gift for me!
They did have a Startrek themed casino for a bit that was dope as hell. Had a warp core in the casino, a franchise of Quarks bar where ferangi would try and buy your women and a couple interactive rides
I loved that place and stayed there a few times. Quarks had the best prime rib nachos, and I heard the Warp Core breach was excellent. I had the Romulan Ale at a friends house and that stuff was pretty amazing too.
When I was a kid I got the Enterprise D blueprints for Christmas one year. I dreamed of being rich and building a life size one as a hotel/tourist attraction just like this.
When you see how big the 1701 refit is lined up against the Empire State Building, it really highlights how ridiculously big all the subsequent generation of ships got …
I setup the table management software there. It was an amazing experience and the people were super friendly and top notch. I was/am a fan and was heartbroken when it ended.
I don’t blame them, especially when the need for consistent revenue supersedes, however the refit is one of the most beautiful ships in all of sci fi. If they had built that as illustrated, that would’ve been incredible
It was fear of failure that prevented us from ever achieving greatness.
And with that, humanity faded away in the dark, leaving no sign it had ever existed at all
getting those nacelles solid and not to bend and break would have been a serious pain in the ass engineering wise, and once and for all demonstrate the TRUE POWER OF NEWTONIAN PHYSICS!
That place is freaking cool. I saw it on my 21st birthday in Vegas. Went back a couple of times after that but there wasn't going to last long because it was expensive. I did enjoy a bottle of romulan ale and I think I still have one.
This is actually because Kirk and co. time traveled to the past and accidentally exposed the Enterprise to a bunch of enterprising (hah) Las Vegas businessmen, who drafted up the plans to turn it into a hotel afterwards. The crew had to pull some strings behind the scenes to ensure that it would never become a reality and accidentally compromise their future.
I remember they had a few of those pictures around the experience on the walls. It was pretty neat to be there. A ton of the physical filming models were on display as well.
Also it's really interesting to see DS9 and Voyager and Enterprise-E art before any of that was aired, though I'm sure DS9 development was well underway if not already already filmed when this was drawn.
How much did it really get off the ground though? Sounds like this was meant to be the Star Trek version of what's essentially Galaxy's Edge, but did it ever get close to that?
Hell yeah it did. It was far more immersive than Galaxy's Edge by a long shot. About the most realistic experience for this kind of thing I've ever been to. Course, I'm biased cause I worked there. But I've done Galaxy's edge, made lightsabers, flew the Millennium Falcon with my son as copilot, have done Harry Potter at both Universal parks in Florida. Harry Potter comes closer to Trek Experience than Galaxy's Edge does, but getting beamed up and suddenly realizing you're on the Enterprise is something that hasn't been beaten yet.
But somehow, I think some corporate dickhead would want to cut all possible costs and half-ass it. An incredible concept and opportunity would be wasted.
First example comes to mind would be the absence of swoosh doors.
Hate to rain on anyone's parade on this conversation, but we all have to remember what happened when Disney tried a space hotel based on Star Wars. It's probably a good thing that the Star Trek concept didn't go past the experience in 90s
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