30 years before Galaxy’s Edge opened there was a sci-fi franchise themed ride with live actors in character that set the stage for the future of themed entertainment. In fact, as pointed out in Expedition Extinct’s video below, many of the story arc points and physical sleight of hand of The Rise of the Resistance can be directly traced to this ride. It closed after a ten year run and it then took Universal and Disney almost 20 years to catch up. And it wasn’t even in a theme park. It was in Las Vegas.

Much like the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu and the new Galactic Starcruiser Hotel, guests interacted with live actors who wouldn’t break character, there was a bar, a restaurant, a museum to explore, a dark ride, and of course retail outlets. There was also a hotel, but it wasn’t themed to match the experience. Is it ringing a bell? Have you heard of this groundbreaking attraction?

Star Trek: The Experience opened in Las Vegas Hilton in January 1998 (a year late) and for the next ten years it was the pinnacle of immersive experiences. Obviously, with the advent of smart phones (datapads to Batuu residents), Disney and Universal have certainly upped the ante, but much of what made the Star Trek experience so great is clearly visible at Galaxy’s Edge and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This video is a great historical breakdown of Star Trek: The Experience.

While the Las Vegas Hilton drew crowds due to its proximity to the Las Vegas Convention Center, it was not located on the strip proper. So a plan was hatched to get people off the strip and to the Hilton. Initially, Star Trek: The Experience was meant to be a life size Enterprise spaceship. But the leadership at Paramount thought that if it failed, there would always be a dilapidated spaceship abandoned in the desert and that could damage the Star Trek brand (FYI, at the time Paramount had a parks division and had theme parks, but that’s for another post).

Contract and licensing negotiations were pretty far along so instead of a full starship, there would be a Star Trek outpost and a space themed casino within the Las Vegas Hilton.

The ride itself had about 20 live actors, filmed content, a motion simulator ride (like Star Tours) and several different sets that made it appear that you had been beamed up to a starship Enterprise. Now, since opening day, several Disneyland attractions like The Jungle Cruise had cast members as “actors” and you were “passengers” on a real boat, not a simulated boat. So how is this different? Star Trek: The Experience was building on Disney’s expertise, but at a whole new level.

One of the most impressive elements was the transporter room that was kind of an elevator, but the lighting, effects and actors around you made the change in scenery imperceptible. The plot moved forward as you moved through the transporter room, to the bridge, and to a turbolift. All the while, actors and effects made you part of the story (an abducted group of people from the 20th century). The ride culminated in a motion simulator ride that then returned you “back to earth”. The experience length was a whopping 20 minutes for just $9.95!

The GIF below shows one of the best tricks. At the start of your “mission” it looks as if you are about to just another motion simulator ride, but instead, the theatrics, sound effects, and sleight of hand make it feel as though you’ve been transported. And sure enough, when the lights come back on you are standing in into a transporter room.

The GIF above and video below are taken from a great article on Star Trek: The Experience behind the scenes.

Unlike today where we have our phones by our sides, high quality ride walk-throughs of the original ride are hard to find. Here’s a pretty good video to give you an idea of the experience. Unfortunately, the video can never capture to physical 360 degree experience that made it feel like you were on The Enterprise.

After a few years, a second ride experience was added with the Borg being the enemy. After 10 years at the Las Vegas Hilton the experience closed and due to licensing issues was never able to open in a new location.

Let’s fast forward about 20 years and you can see the influence this ride had on The Wizarding World and Galaxy’s Edge. Granted, the advances in computer graphics, phones, and effects definitely take these more recent attractions to new heights, but Star Trek: The Experience was the grandfather of the immersive dark ride.

In addition, this ride was part of the shift to the more family friendly Las Vegas we know today:

• 1994: Steven Spielberg and Jeffery Katzenberg open what many believe to be the first “experiential” restaurant called Dive! The Las Vegas site opened a year later. Rainforest Cafe also opened in 1994, but the theatrics of Dive! were much more substantial.

• 1995: The MGM Grand opened with it’s theme park

• 1996: The Stratosphere opens with rooftop rides (The free-fall drop is gone, but I can attest that it was one of the most exhilarating and chilling rides I have even been on)

• 1997: New York, New York with it’s roller coaster

• 1998: Star Trek: The Experience (Around this time I started attending CES or the Exhibitor Show regularly and I never missed a chance to go the the Hilton)

• 2000: Speed: The Ride and The Nascar Cafe (This was actually a really fun coaster and I believe, at the time, set the record for fastest ride acceleration from a standstill)

Want to learn more, this site has detailed files.