Star Trek: The Tour- Interactive exhibit

Thought this could be of interest as there are a few Trek fans on the forum. A traveling exhibit that encompases a 50,000 sq foot space of Star Trek exhibits includes props, models, costumes and recreated sets of the original TOS bridge, the TNG Bridge, captain's quarters and other bits of TNG original sets and some full motion flight simulators into the world of Trek. Sounds like a pretty fun exhibit!

It starts January 2008 in Los Angeles and travels to 40 cities. The exhibit assembly of items were assisted by Trek production people including Herman Zimmerman, Dan Curry, Michael Westmore, and narration provided by Rod Roddenberry. And in certain Cities, William Shatner will make an appearance as Ambassador.

Here's a link to info:
http://www.startrek.com/custom/include/community/tour/

I recall seeing a story on one of the entertainment shows that a similar traveling exhibit tour is being done for CSI. This must be big business for the more popular TV show franchises. Star Trek seems a no brainer and of course must not hurt sales for DVD's and not doubt brings awareness to the casual fan for the new movie coming Christmas 2008.

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Sounds cool!

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Wonder if it will reuse some of the props and set pieces from the "Federation Science" exhibit that toured in the early 90s.

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Argh. . .nothing closer than Tampa.

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Well... Tampa is doable but Ft Lauderdale or Miami would be nicer. Thanks for the heads up Nelson.

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Sure guys!

I wonder if this exhibit is associated with a tour that came to Six Flags Great America/Paramount theme parks about 1995 or was it 2001? That one was pretty good, it had similar items and it had the actual set from the Enterprise D briefing room set. This new one sounds better.

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Montreal is the closest for me. Can't believe there is no Toronto date. Its the ST capital of Canada.

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Toronto was on the list!

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Yes! Tulsa is on the list!

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Isn't Vulcan, Alberta, the ST capital of Canada?

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This looks to me very much like the dismantled Star Trek: The Experience from the Las Vegas Hilton.

Didn't I hear that that exhibit/ride was shut down recently?

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Did anyone see the prices? $30-35! Still excited?

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There is a lot to see in the exhibit, some interactive stuff too. And I think there is some kind of ride as well. That could be how they decided on the ticket prices.

If this has anything to do with the Star Trek Experience in Vegas, I don't know. But I have not heard that they closed or dismantled the Vegas Star Trek Experience.

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I remember seeing a Star Trek exhibit years ago at one of the towers next to Niagara Falls. What I thought would be geeky turned out to be pretty interesting. It was surprising how the props department took a lot of care in building some of the larger sets, but got a bit lazy when it came down to adding labels to the prop tricorders. Some of them were drawn by hand!

I don't know if I'd want to go to such an exhibit though. It would depend on the crowds. The one at Niagara Falls had the advantage of being almost deserted when I stumbled onto it.

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As far as I know the Experience in Vegas is still up and running.

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Yes it is... Star Trek: The Experience . I had a great time there a few years ago!

Not sure if i will go to this when it comes to Boston. Tickets are pricey and not many of my friends would be interested in going. Time will tell....

--John

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I'm new to your site, but wanted to give you an update to Star Trek The Tour that began in Long Beach CA. I was there for the entire opening weekend. The Gala event was wonderful. William Shatner - the Tour's ambassador and Martin Biallas - Star Trek The Tour's president and CEO of SEE Touring Productions Inc welcomed the 1500 or so guests that attended that evening. Food was catered by Wolfgang Puck and they included a free open bar.

The following day the event actually kicked off and it was worth every penny. This is not a Star Trek (ST) convention. It's an exhibit and a very interactive one at that. There's an excellent tribute to Gene Roddenberry that's a must see. There's a ST trivia game that's fun and sometimes challenging. The shuttle craft simulator rides are included at no extra charge. You can choose mild or wild. Take both. It's worth it. The recreation of the TOS bridge is to spec. That comes from William Shatner himself, as he sat in his old chair and remarked that it was exactly as he remembered it. We could take pics of him on the bridge (which I did) as long as we didn't use a flash since he was being interviewed at that time.

The props, costumes, prosthetics were professionally displayed. I was amazed on how much Klingon "stuff" there was. If you want to see the High Command chair up close and personal, it's there. Weapons as well.

Look up! Above the walls are video scenes of the movies playing at random along with famous sayings from the movies streaming across the screen.

The corridors are detailed and even the emergency exit is decked out to look like a real starship exit. A great disguise for sure.

Above the costumes are videos of the characters wearing that specific costume. If you want more detail, an audio tour is available with headsets so you can plug in and listen to trivia galore!

Pay a little extra and you'll get to meet with the Tour staff and be taken on a one hour all exclusive behind the scenes tour of the exhibit. Take a notebook to remember everything they tell you. It's info overload.

The Romulan Scorpion ship model is on display and it's a beauty.

The Next Generation (TNG)'s bridge is outstanding and the photo ops are very cool. Want to be in your own ST video? U-Star has that taken care of, and it's very very very cool. I know, I was there..... I'm no actress believe me, but it was so much fun to be one of Khan's renegades and interact with Captain Kirk.

Through the gift store is Ten Forward where you can eat okay food, but enjoy TOS episodes on the screens overhead. That was fun! Yes, you can eat Bird of Prey and drink Romulan Ale, but they'll tell you it's only chicken and punch...... no worries.

I will say that the folks that put this on: SEE Touring Productions, Inc., and Metropolitan Talent are tops in professionalism and entertainment. Because of the weekend pass, I was able to meet some of the movers and shakers of the ST universe as well as the guys in charge of Star Trek The Tour. They went out of their way to make the experience enjoyable for everyone. I'm not sure they slept much during the opening weekend.

After spending a lot of time there, I came away with the sense that this was a great way to spend the day for ST fans of all generations, those who like it but are not obsessed with it, families, and a way to spend a great day with friends. There is something for everyone. Take your camera. You'll have a great time.

Barbara Hamper

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Barbara-

Thanks for telling us about your experience at the Star Trek Tour! And welcome to the HTF.

I was thinking of flying down to LA and seeing it there first before it came up here to the SF area. I didn't get a chance to go to LA, I hope it's as well put together here and across the US as it was in LA.

It sounds like a much better experience then what was done about 10 years ago. From your description, it sounds well done and a high quality experience. I can't wait. Thanks again for the review!

Nelson

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I was there in October last year. Great stuff.

I can't seem to find the full schedule, all it says is to check back later; with the Long Beach extension I'd guess they pulled the existing one? I might be vacationing in the US again later this year, so it would be nice to cooordinate and visit the Tour, if convenient, but then again I've got 5 years in which to make it...

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Hi Nelson; Yee-Ming:

Here's a quick "unofficial" update. I've been told that the next stop may not be San Francisco, but instead San Diego. There are some bugs they need to work out. I've been checking the San Diego websites for events but there's nothing listed yet. When, and if, the news breaks, I'll be back to post the information for you.

Oh, and thanks for the "welcome". Glad to be here.

Barbara

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Barbara-

Thanks for the info. I sure hope it does come to San Francisco and all the other cities earlier advertised! And I look forward to hearing what you learn. I'll do the same.

Nelson

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When it comes to Tulsa wake me up. Shocked it was on that list, that seems to have fallen off the face of the earth.

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I've been looking to see when it is coming to San Francisco and can't seem to find a date.
Who is scheduling this thing?

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This sounds like the Star Wars exhibit I saw at the LA science museum last year, which was fun. Hopefully this is coming towards me, and I can get to it.

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Mikel -

Star Trek The Tour is produced by SEE Touring Productions, Inc. and presented by Metropolitan Talent, Inc.

SEE Touring is located in California. Metropolitan Talent in New York.

There are NO dates posted as of yet. I'm involved with several Star Trek websites and all are silent on the exhibit. I'm just glad I got to go to the very first one. I'd hate to think it's also the last one. It was a tremendous event.

Barbara Hamper

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Thanks for the update Barbara. That's disappointing that there's no news.

I checked with the webmaster at trekmovie.com and he has not responeded or posted any news about it. Everyone must be in the dark about this. I should have flown down to LA to see it!

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I was pumped but now there are no tour dates listed... I am sad

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news guys, but this is just in today. For the latest info you can go to the trektoday website

Look under: news/230508_05.shtml

Looks like Star Trek The Tour was sold/purchased by an asset mgt company due to a financial dispute. It may continue in some way, shape, or form, but SEE Touring Production Inc., is no longer the promoter. That's really the bad news since both Martin Biallas and Dave Riva were so involved with this venture. Sad but true.....

If "the show does go on" it will move to San Diego as soon as they get all the equipment out of the Dome in Long Beach and get it set up again. I'll keep you posted as things get going.

Thought you'd want to hear the latest.

Barbara Hamper

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Maybe they finally realized it won't fly with such high ticket prices.

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Barbara-

Again, thanks for the update and heads-up. That's too bad. I guess they chalk it up to bad management. It had such a strong opening publicity.

I hope they get the show back on track.

I'm surprised trekmovie.com isn't up on this story.