[Trivial Psychic]

Paramount considered building it back in 1992, but shot down the idea.  If it had been built, ST fans from across the world would have made the pilgrimage there and probably would have routinely taken over the edifice and operated it as though it was the real thing.

Read the whole story >HERE<.

[TwentyPercentCooler]

Wow. Just...wow. If they ever built something like that, ANYWHERE, I would drop everything and go see it. And I really don't even consider myself that much of a Trekkie.

That's like if someone suddenly decided to build a life-sized Orion destroyer exhibit. How awesome would that be?

[karajorma]

150 million? For something that would have made money the way that thing would have?

[Mongoose]

Japan's cool enough to build life-size Gundam and Gigantor statues, but we can't even get the Enterprise.

[Flipside]

Paramount seems to be developing an 'anti-income' field that prevents them from making profitable managerial decisions. They've been working on it for years it appears...

[Colonol Dekker]

That's like if someone suddenly decided to build a life-sized Orion destroyer exhibit. How awesome would that be?

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY NOW!!!!!

[BlueFlames]

Does anybody remember this?  It opened, was a big hit for a few years, and then interest and revenue tapered off.

I get the distinct impression that a life-sized Enterprise would go through a similar life-cycle.  Trek fans would clamor over the site opening.  They'd go en masse over a couple of years, but once they've seen it, they've seen it.  Therefore, after a few years, you'd have a $150,000,000 exhibit that hadn't yet made up its construction costs and wouldn't be generating enough revenue to justify keeping it open.  Now, you can't sell a $150,000,000 Enterprise replica, so you've now got a derelict Enterprise, rotting away, until someone comes along and decides that the property is valuable enough to warrant the cost of demolishing what's on it.

Does my inner-fanboy wish this had been built?  Sure.  The pragmatist in me, though, sees that this would have cost half-again as much as Undiscovered Country, Generations, and First Contact, the three films that came out between this idea and The Experience attraction opening, combined.  I'm kind of glad it didn't get built, because I wouldn't have the heart to see a full-scale Enterprise fall into decay, after losing effectiveness as an attraction.

Also, on the subject of pragmatism, the largest Constitution-refit model used in the production of the TOS-era films was eight feet long.  At that scale, the effects teams handling the model were constantly worried that they'd break the damn thing.  Scaling that up to a 300 meter structure, capable of withstanding wind and weather and bearing the load of all its visitors, would be quite an engineering feat.  Something tells me that a $150,000,000 budget would get exhausted way before completion of the structure.

[StarSlayer]

When I think Vegas I think this:



A giant 1701 on the strip is not conducive to broken legs and shattered dreams.

[Mikes]

Mhhh so would that have been possible actually? I mean... could you design a model of that size with a Saucer section that would hold up without supports (like on the picture)? LOL.

[General Battuta]

Somewhere during season 4 of Star Trek Voyager I board a 737 out of Reno carrying a bat'leth in the lining of an ironing board. As we climb to cruising altitude I storm the cockpit and knife the crew then with quiet intent barricade myself in and set to work at the controls. As consternation becomes horror in air traffic control I steer the crowded jet liner towards Vegas. Negotiators plead with me but they can elicit only nonsense. there's coffee in that nebula, the madman at the controls says. a hole in the event horizon. mister braga, warp factor ten. Jets are scrambled to intercept but it's too late. let's make sure that history never forgets the name enterprise I scream into the radio. The impact separates the saucer section from main engineering and the last thing I see are the plasticine lobes of a waitress Ferengi propelled on the blast wave. In the wake of the tragedy, the Clinton administration invades Rura Penthe for its dilithium

[Flipside]

Does anybody remember this?  It opened, was a big hit for a few years, and then interest and revenue tapered off.

I get the distinct impression that a life-sized Enterprise would go through a similar life-cycle.  Trek fans would clamor over the site opening.  They'd go en masse over a couple of years, but once they've seen it, they've seen it.  Therefore, after a few years, you'd have a $150,000,000 exhibit that hadn't yet made up its construction costs and wouldn't be generating enough revenue to justify keeping it open.  Now, you can't sell a $150,000,000 Enterprise replica, so you've now got a derelict Enterprise, rotting away, until someone comes along and decides that the property is valuable enough to warrant the cost of demolishing what's on it.

Does my inner-fanboy wish this had been built?  Sure.  The pragmatist in me, though, sees that this would have cost half-again as much as Undiscovered Country, Generations, and First Contact, the three films that came out between this idea and The Experience attraction opening, combined.  I'm kind of glad it didn't get built, because I wouldn't have the heart to see a full-scale Enterprise fall into decay, after losing effectiveness as an attraction.

Also, on the subject of pragmatism, the largest Constitution-refit model used in the production of the TOS-era films was eight feet long.  At that scale, the effects teams handling the model were constantly worried that they'd break the damn thing.  Scaling that up to a 300 meter structure, capable of withstanding wind and weather and bearing the load of all its visitors, would be quite an engineering feat.  Something tells me that a $150,000,000 budget would get exhausted way before completion of the structure.

The difference there, I think is between drip-feeding what the corporation think the public want from Star Trek, as in gimmicky, expensive rides and stuff in glass boxes and the experience of actually walking around the deck the Enterprise.

Of course, the chances are they would still screw it up by allowing no interaction with the stuff at all, thus making it a 'read only' attraction.

[TwentyPercentCooler]

Somewhere during season 4 of Star Trek Voyager I board a 737 out of Reno carrying a bat'leth in the lining of an ironing board. As we climb to cruising altitude I storm the cockpit and knife the crew then with quiet intent barricade myself in and set to work at the controls. As consternation becomes horror in air traffic control I steer the crowded jet liner towards Vegas. Negotiators plead with me but they can elicit only nonsense. there's coffee in that nebula, the madman at the controls says. a hole in the event horizon. mister braga, warp factor ten. Jets are scrambled to intercept but it's too late. let's make sure that history never forgets the name enterprise I scream into the radio. The impact separates the saucer section from main engineering and the last thing I see are the plasticine lobes of a waitress Ferengi propelled on the blast wave. In the wake of the tragedy, the Clinton administration invades Rura Penthe for its dilithium

This is definitely the best thing I've read all week.

[FireSpawn]

Somewhere during season 4 of Star Trek Voyager I board a 737 out of Reno carrying a bat'leth in the lining of an ironing board. As we climb to cruising altitude I storm the cockpit and knife the crew then with quiet intent barricade myself in and set to work at the controls. As consternation becomes horror in air traffic control I steer the crowded jet liner towards Vegas. Negotiators plead with me but they can elicit only nonsense. there's coffee in that nebula, the madman at the controls says. a hole in the event horizon. mister braga, warp factor ten. Jets are scrambled to intercept but it's too late. let's make sure that history never forgets the name enterprise I scream into the radio. The impact separates the saucer section from main engineering and the last thing I see are the plasticine lobes of a waitress Ferengi propelled on the blast wave. In the wake of the tragedy, the Clinton administration invades Rura Penthe for its dilithium

Yeah, I hate Ferengi too.

[Legate Damar]

They should have built a Galor-class warship instead

[TwentyPercentCooler]

They should have built a Galor-class warship instead

OH. Those funny-looking ships I enjoy vaporizing quite frequently? Yeah, they're pretty cool, I guess.

[Legate Damar]

You will pay for this disgrace to the Cardassian people!

[NGTM-1R]

You will pay for this disgrace to the Cardassian people!

Hey, you suggested building a Galor rather than a Keldon.

Besides, if I wanted a Cardassian ship I'd want a Hideki, little buggers are impressive.

[Legate Damar]

That is true

[S-99]

Does anybody remember this?  It opened, was a big hit for a few years, and then interest and revenue tapered off.

Comparing star trek the experience to a real life full scale enterprise is like comparing turds to awesome. You're comparing a haunted house to ceasars palace. I don't think it's a fair comparison.

Other details. Star trek the experience really only catered to trekkies and could not do much else than that. Star trek the experience: t's like a bad movie i'd never pay to see, but would only watch it with someone who was dumb enough to rent it (sure it may be enjoyable, but i wouldn't waste money on it).

A full scale enterprise in vegas would have the awe, wonder, fascination, and interest of  a bunch of non trekkies who would simply want to check out and get a tour of what would be one hell of a cool looking and really big different kind of structure (it would be really cool just from the aesthetics and architecture too, this is why it wouldn't just only cater to trekkies). Full scale enterprise: i'd pay money to go to that.

I do think star trek the experience is ****. The guy wanted to do the full scale enterprise, was backed for it to happen, then he got reduced to star trek the experience.

[Goober5000]

[knee-jerk doubts]

[knee-jerk doubts]

Reading the source article reveals that they spent quite a lot of time thinking through the financial, structural, marketing, logistical, shelf-life, etc. concerns, and they were confident it could be done.  Here's a follow-up comment from the guy who headed the project:
http://www.thegoddardgroup.com/blog/index.php/now-it-can-be-told-the-star-trek-attraction-that-almost-came-to-life-in-1992/#comment-153