'Star Trek: The Experience' To Close

The rumors have unfortunately proven to be true and Star Trek: The Experience is closing after an eleven-year run.

As reported by fox5vegas.com and TrekMovie.com although its contract runs though the end of December, The Experience will be closing on the first of September.

In a press release, operations manager and director of marketing Chad Boutte said "Hailing frequencies open. We'd like to thank all the fans and friends of Star Trek, whose constant and amazing support we've enjoyed throughout our tenure at the Las Vegas Hilton. As we boldly go into the futures that await, know that we take your love of 'Star Trek: The Experience' with us. We share the memories of time spent in the most unique place in the Galaxy, and we carry those memories into our futures with us. Live long and prosper. Hailing frequencies closed."

Negotiations between CBS, Paramount, Cedar Fair (owners of The Experience and the Hilton failed to keep the attraction open. The Hilton Hotel felt that more money could be made using the space for something other than the Star Trek attraction. Even the hope of attracting more fans with the upcoming release of Star Trek XI wasn't sufficient to save The Experience.

Robert Picardo (EMH) was not surprised by the news, as reported at SyFy Portal. "The hotel changed hands, and [the new owners] have been eyeing that large amount of retail space lustfully for some time," he said. "It breaks my heart a little bit to no longer be my own theme park ride. Once you have an action figure for years, there are only a few ways to go up, and being a theme park attraction is one of the only ones."

To read more, head to the articles located here, here and here.

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