Star Trek: The Tour - The Destination Hollywood Review

Klingons, Tribbles and Vulcans, oh my. If the very names of these fictional aliens get you excited we have some good news. Star Trek: The Tour is coming to a city near you.

It's billed as the largest exhibit of interactive experiences from all five of the television shows and ten movies ever assembled. We at Destination Hollywood knew we had to chart a steady course, and head for Long Beach, California the first stop on the forty four city multi year tour. So here we boldly go. Warp speed..

Captain's Log Star Date February 17, 2008.

We have entered the Star Trek tour and immediately hear the music, see the Enterprise replica read the words, Space the Final Frontier and we know this is good.

Look it's the bridge of the Enterprise, the Captain's chair, a phaser, Mr. Spock's original costume, a Klingon attack vessel. So much to see. Four decades of shows and movies provide something for fans of every era.



Besides the exhibits and displays, The Tour offers some pretty amazing interactive experiences. You can sit in Captain Kirk's chair and be photographed with the crew superimposed in the picture. Look it's me and Lt. Uhura and Mr. Sulu. You can walk down the Saucer Corridor just as if you were a crew member on the ship and see Captain Jean-Luc Picard's Living Quarters, Sickbay, and then ... every trekkie's dream you can enter the Transporter Room and.... be transported. You know, beamed up, as in "Beam me up Scotty". This is turned into a picture where your image appears and disappears right before you own eyes.

For the most extraverted of fans, you can take your place as a cast member. You pick a script, read your lines off the Teleprompter and there you are acting alongside William Shatner.

There are two shuttlecraft simulator rides billed as mild or wild. Since even the mild flight warned against riding if you suffer from motion sickness, we chose to pass, but the ride operators assured us it was very popular with tour goers.

Every one of the employees we encountered was helpful and friendly, offering to take our pictures and eager to share information.

There is a particularly interesting exhibit called The History of the Future which details every television series, every movie, leaving a space for the newest movie which is filming right now

According to the tour website William Shatner has signed on as the official celebrity ambassador for the tour. This means that he will appear on the opening day in each city and "pop up at other times". Captain Kirk did not pop up the day that we were there but there were fans of all ages.

As you leave the exhibit you enter a store and restaurant area. You can sit at Quark's bar and have a glass of bloodwine ( the Klingon warrior's drink of choice)

As much as we enjoyed ourselves we would like to add a caveat. This is of course a for profit venture and mounting 50,000 square feet of exhibits, hauling them around the country and paying Mr. Shatner's fees certainly do not come cheap. Tickets for the exhibit are $30 to $35 and then immediately after entering you are asked to pay $6 for an audio tour. Each of the interactive pictures and videos must be purchased, costs ranging from $25 - 40 each. And this is all before you reach the merchandising area. Pricing is not made very clear. The employees claimed not to know the cost of the pictures and you do not know how much you have actually spent until you check out. It's also very hard to find prices on the merchandise in the store area. The souvenir book was $20 but the only way we knew this was to take it up to the cashier.

One other thing to note. The tour is selling multi day passes. We do not think even the most die hard trekkie could spend more than two or three hours here.

The schedule for the tour after it leaves Long Beach has not yet been announced but check back with us and we will keep you posted when it is coming to your city.

We think you will enjoy this tour and be reminded once again how great this franchise is. When Mr. Shatner was interviewed on the opening day he was asked why he thinks it has remained so popular. He said that often people are worried about the future and that Star Trek" gives us evidence that not only are we permanent 300 years from now but that what we are doing is exciting so there's a sense of hope for the future."

Live long and prosper.

For information on when the tour may be arriving at a city near you ... check out the Star Trek: The Tour Official Website.

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Answer

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