USS Pioneer Blog

Saturday Fun Day –
Sat we started the day with breakfast at the café at the Hilton I had a pretty good omelet and decided what to do that evening. The day was going to be spent at the Star Trek Experience, one last time before they shut it down. It was also my birthday!

We decided to see about getting Penn & Teller tickets. We had seen them at the Tickets 4 Tonite but had been sold out for Fri night. Ed, Arty and I walked over while the rest of the crew worked on getting it setup for our tour tickets.

The tickets ended up being slightly more but still over 30% off! The only issue was that we needed to get over to the Rio to exchange the voucher for assigned seats. We trekked over to the Rio. Originally we tried to catch the shuttle from Caesar’s but the valet steered us wrong, bad valet no tip for you, and after waiting and no shuttle in sight, we finally grabbed a cab over. After exchanging the tickets we found the shuttle from the Rio to the Paris, caught the monorail back to the Hilton.

On the way to the monorail we got stopped by someone that had just bought two 3-day tickets and was selling them cheap. I wasn’t sure about their authenticity but Arty and Ed got them and the turned out to be a genuine Vegas deal.

When we got back Debby was just getting up to the ticket booth. The place was packed with lines out the door and down the hall. I had been there many times and haven’t seen lines like that since the very beginning. We spent time taking tons of pictures in the museum and we got in line for the Klingon Encounter since Arty had never been on either and we universally agreed it was the one to start with and still the best.

Our back stage tour was getting ready to begin. While we were waiting I too several more pictures and took some pictures for other people in our group. Much to our surprise we me met some of the coworkers of Gary that had driven out after work Fri night and were spending the day at the Experience then driving right back! That’s commitment!

Melvin our tour guide was great he gave us tons of details and even though we had been on this tour two years ago the tour was different, thanks to Melvin’s different experiences and take on the whole Experience. It was cool to be under the Klingon Encounter ride while it was in progress since we had just been on it. Everyone had a great time on the tour and we got our Certificates and headed back to ride some more, time for the Borg 4D ride.

Another awesome ride this time with a Borg flair to it and in addition to the 3D glasses and video there was also a tactile experience, hence the 4D in the name! With the lines so long we didn’t have enough time to ride much more and fortunately we got to defer our pictures in the Borg Chamber and Bridge until Sun. Off to Penn and Teller!

Took the Monorail to the Paris and had a quick dinner at a Café in the shop are there. I should have had the croissant sandwich, the pizza wasn’t very good. I guess when in Paris don’t have the Pizza? Free shuttle to the Rio from the Paris, got us there with just enough time to get in to the theatre and get a couple of overpriced drinks, it was still my birthday after all!

What can I say Penn and Teller live is an experience, we have watched several specials and the Showtime series but they are even better live. Only regret was I would have liked to have been closer. We stuck around after and did the meet and greet and got pictures with them.

We stuck around the Rio since Debby needed to get points on a player’s card for her friend. We played in the are of the ‘Show in The Sky’ show and it was your dance and singing show with some decent talent, but the differentiator was that they had tracks in the ceiling that they had gondolas and the performers dropped beads from them to finish out the show. Ed was the big winner at some slot machine he was playing while watching the show, way to go Ed. Overall he ended up paying for the trip from it.

Sunday Final Fun and Return Home –
Sunday we got up cleaned up and packed so we could get our pictures done first thing. Audi and Charlie had earlier flights than we did and we wanted to get us all as group on the bridge. This is one of the many great things to do at the Experience and it was once again a great time. We ended up picking up a crew member, just for the picture though. He was there to get his picture and was the only one not a member so we invited him in, pretty cool huh? More so when the picture goes live and everyone asks, “who is that?”.

Pictures done we finished checking out while Audi and Kathryn got a table. Quark’s was also packed and they were running out of everything. Had the Jambalaya and it was very good. Our last meal before everyone shipped out so we raised a toast to all that had gone before and good luck to all those that had put on a great show for the last ten plus years.

Arty and Ed went exploring and Debby and I went to the Stratosphere to keep our cards active. We thought $14 was bit high to go up in the tower and we couldn’t find a ½ price coupon so we bagged it. Cool view and all but $14 for a few hours? I actually hit two 4 of a kinds on video poker but it was early still and I made the mistake and kept playing and put it all back. I did earn $3 off a buffet, whoop de doo I was working toward getting a free spin at the $1 Million machine and mistakenly thought it was for each 100 points. Oops. Quit while you are ahead. I played one of the HD video machines near the front and hit a straight flush so I ended up even for the day but I was only playing 1 coin killing time and missed the big jackpot. Always play max coins.

Headed back to the Hilton and spent some more time playing my all time favorite machine, the new Star Trek machine. It has ‘Adaptive Gaming (?)’  and keep track of your progress with medal and levels and opens up new games when you get so many medals. Very cool sounds, effects and juts a fun time. I want one! Caught the shuttle back but left Ed at the Experience, he didn’t like his picture and was re-doing it. He did meet up at the airport fortunately.  Plane was delayed and we got in real late but we had a great time and I’m still glad we had those extra few hours in Las Vegas. Thanks again to the Star Trek Experience for 10 years of missions!

RIP Star Trek Experience Jan 1998 – Sept 1 2008. Live Long and Prosper.

Check-in was quick and easy and caught a quick breakfast at the Airport.  In making Ed’s meal they apparently blew out the kitchen and Arty needed to forage elsewhere, glad we got in line before Ed. At the gate we met up with Audi and Charlie and we were all on the same flight out.

We had a good flight the usual small snack and beverage service nothing special and I got to start a new book, the SG-1 tie-in novel Roswell. Debby sat next to a young lady who was on her second audition for Brett Michaels Rock of Love, good luck! We picked up or bags and grabbed a shuttle. We had hoped to get a limo as they used to have a per person rate just like a shuttle but with more style. We did find the company but they no longer do that just per hour or day rates. We got checked in, even got in early, and got settled, now time for lunch.

Off to Lunch – We met up with another couple of friends and headed off to lunch at the Peppermill. We had been there several years ago and it was a reasonably priced and good tasting, and we were glad to see that it still was. I had a really good Buffalo Chicken wrap and Debby had BBQ grilled chicken, all very delicious. While we ate we scoured the coupon books and worked on a plan for the evening. Apparently the Blue man group outsourced their ticket line to India and Ed couldn’t understand the operator. We called the theatre directly and found out the cheap tickets in the ad were way in the back and on the sides, pass. You would think they could lower there ticket prices with all the savings from outsourcing. Since we had been there several years ago they were almost twice as much.

Right next door to the Peppermill they have a Tix4Tonite, a discount, overstock ticket seller that has last minute deals up to 50% off. These aren’t always the best seats in the house but they are good and great deals to boot. We looked at the list and found the ‘Rat Pack Is Back’ show. Debby, Gary and I had seen an earlier version of this show and it was great so we decided to give it a try and the price was right.

We headed back to the Hilton since we had several hours before we needed to head out to the show. Walking in the lobby we found the new Star Trek slot machine! This is awesome! I’m not a big fan of slots but the Star Trek machine is very entertaining and you login and get an ID to track your progress. As you progress you open up new levels and bonuses. In the first two bonus levels you beam down to the planet and phaser away at things on the surface and are in a space battle with, who else, the Klingons. The sound effects sound and video clips are awesome. This is my all time favorite slot machine. I want one! Given we had so much fun we didn’t get much in the way of rest but we met everyone in the lobby and took cabs to the Plaza for the show.

Rat Pack – We hung out near the theater and played some of the machines and had a drink or two while we waited for the doors to open. We got decent seats and had one obligatory, overpriced drink inside.

The Rat Pack is Back casts Brian Duprey as “Chairman of the Board” Frank Sinatra, Kyle Diamond in the role of Sammy Davis Jr., co-producer Sandy Hackett as comic foil Joey Bishop and Johnny Edwards as Dean Martin! The show recreates the vibe of the 60′s Las Vegas and the performers were dead on. Many of the jokes have been updated for the times but Sandy/Joey’s comic timing is perfect and the four work together splendidly. Each performer does some of the solo classics and then they come together for several numbers to close the show and complete the Rat Pack Experience. All together an excellent show and even having seen this show several years ago I think it has gotten better and the venue at the plaza is retro cool. If you have an evening in Las Vegas I highly recommend it. Stay around after for the meet and great and the inevitable photo opportunity, great fun.

After the show we wandered around taking in the Freemont Street Experience and ended up at Binion’s café for a late dinner. I had some good prime rib and at a decent price, everyone seemed to have had an equally good meal as well.

Debby, Ed and I stuck around Binion’s and played the machines for a few hours, my luck didn’t hold and ended up putting my winnings back in. I had an active players club card that got me a discount in the café but it was too late to see what I had earned on my card. Since it was after midnight the three of us decided to share a cab back, the rest of the crew had taken the bus back. When we got in the elevator to head back up to the room, we ran in to Arty, one of the group that had taken the bus. Score one for the Cabbies!

All in all a full day of fun and games in Las Vegas, Sat and Sunday updates coming soon. Stay tuned!

A group of us made the ‘Trek’ out for one last ‘mission’. As you probably know the Star Trek Experience is ending it’s 10+ year mission at the Las Vegas Hilton on Sept 1st, 2008.

A couple of our Intrepid crew had never been so it was equally cool to go with them and have it all new and cool.  We did the Back Stage Tour and it was different from the last time we went but always cool. I am glad we did that once again as well.

The place was packed, more packed than I had seen it on previous trips, most likely people seeing it for the first time or wanting to have on last Experience. Lines were out the door and down the hall all three days we were there. It was an added bonus that I got to do it on my birthday!

We had a nice meal at Quark’s on Sun before heading out to the Airport. The food was really good, I had the Jambalaya. The food there was better that the rest of the Hilton come to think of it.  It was equally cool and sad at the same time. All but one shop was closed and very little remained merchandise wise. I did get two hats I hadn’t seen before, Romulan Ale and Light Ale, very cool.
We will miss having the Star Trek Experience as one of our must see travel destinations.We wish you well…
“Second Star to the Right and straight on ’til morning”

after you hit the upgrade button …

They did warn me though and I had numerous backups. I was able to restore the site in a few hours and as far as I can tell, except for a missed forum post all should be present and accounted for.

If you notice issues let me know…

I am still going to upgrade the site but am working it in a parallel branch. Overall more work but less distruption.