last Monday I had the opportunity to attend the first leg of the 5 year, 40 city journey of Star Trek the Tour at the Queen Mary Dome in Long Beach, California. Attending on a Monday morning there weren't any crowds which made the experience that much more enjoyable. For anyone who is a Star Trek Fan this is a must see event. Unlike a convention that occurs over one weekend, this event lasts an entire month and gives one the advantage of avoiding the weekend mass of crazed trekkies.
Star Trek the Tour is a travelling museum of Star Trek props and costumes from every incarnation of Star Trek from the the original series with Captain Kirk to the last series Enterprise. But not only will you find props and costumes, you can step into a transporter and beam away, sit in the captain's chair on the bridge of both the original Enterprise and the Next Generation (and these chairs are the actual stage props for the series), eat in Ten Forward at tables from the Deep Space series, step through the portal of the Guardian of Forever (and all Star Trek fans know what that is), see yourself in an episode of Star Trek and for those brave enough there are two shuttle craft simulator rides.
The exhibit is set up so that you can go at your own pace where ever you want and spend as much time at any one place. You can also rent a device that allows you to access recorded information at many of the displays if you need a refresher in who a particular alien was or who wore a certain costume. There is a trivia game that you can take to test your Trekkie knowledge and each time you do there are different questions. The last stop in the tour is the Encounter Theater where you are part of a space adventure. I also found the staff to be knowledgeable about Star Trek which I thought to be a nice touch. The only thing lacking from the Tour are the actors, however Shatner did make an appearance on opening day.I thoroughly enjoyed Star Trek the Tour and encourage any Trek fan close enough to one of the 40 stops to experience it for themselves. This is a Disneyland for Trekkies and a once in a lifetime chance to see all that is Trek.
Live Long and Prosper!
Great post, Karen. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Star Trek Tour. Wasn't it great to get beamed up? Weren't you amazed by how many "normal" families were in attendence, not like the rabid Trekkie fans of the old days. Note to Paramount: Why not start a permanent Star Trek theme park? I bet it would rock! Please do it in LA and not Orlando!
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