star trek theme park usa

New Theme Park to Feature ‘Star Trek’ Section

By Eric Pesola
Updated Oct 10, 2022 at 4:34pm

Movie Park Germany. Star Trek: Operation Enterprise ride at Movie Park Germany.

Who remembers the 1990s, when fans of “ Star Trek ” could venture to the closest Kings Dominion and pose with members of the Federation and Klingon Empire ? It’s true! Paramount bought the theme park chain, which had locations across the United States. These parks were rebranded under the Paramount banner. They positioned Paramount Parks as a direct competitor to the Six Flags theme park chain.

Paramount Parks

The chain of parks included Paramount’s Kings Island (in Cincinnati); Paramount’s Kings Dominion (in Richmond, Va.); Paramount’s Great America (in Santa Clara, Calif.); Paramount’s Carowinds (in Charlotte); and Paramount Canada’s Wonderland (in Toronto).

Fans could also enjoy an immersive sleepover at “Star Trek: The Experience” at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. They could experience the Promenade and Quark’s restaurant from “Deep Space Nine,” battle both the Klingon and Borg in 4D rides.

All of these featured rides which were based on Paramount’s films and intellectual properties, like the “Wayne’s World” roller coaster named The Hurler, The Italian Job coaster, The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear coaster, and the Paramount on Ice event, which featured skaters dressed in “The Next Generation” costumes. This all came to an end in 2006 when CBS sold their parks to Cedar Fair for $1.42 billion .

“Star Trek: The Experience,” however, kept on rolling until 2008, when it too shut down for good .

‘Star Trek’ in China

Now a new theme park is set to get underway in China, which will feature many of these same ideas will live again. According to Variety , Paramount is planning a resort in China which will span 643 acres and will feature rides dedicated to “ Mission Impossible ” and the “Italian Job,” with sections of the park dedicated to “Peanuts,” “Dinotopia,” and a Final Frontier “Star Trek”-themed area.

“I think what Paramount really wants is just to get one of their branded theme parks all the way to opening day and beyond, and show that one can be developed using this business model where it’s mainly a licensing situation,” John Gerner told Variety . Gerner represents the theme park consultancy Leisure Business Advisors .

Variety says this will be the third largest of the U.S.-based theme parks in China, followed behind Shanghai Disneyland (at 963 acres) and Universal Beijing Resort (at 990-acres).

Variety also reports that part of the thinking behind “ Star Trek: Prodigy ” would be to earn a younger audience, which could also lead to “toys and theme park rides.”

‘Star Trek’ in Germany

This will not be the only spot where “Star Trek” fans can enjoy rides. In Germany, folks can ride a “The Next Generation”-themed roller coaster at Movie Park Germany . “ Star Trek: Operation Enterprise ” ride puts fans on a coaster which challenges them to escape from “the evil Borg.”

Could ‘Star Trek’ Be in a Theme Park Near You?

While “Star Trek” theme parks in the United States have not been a ‘thing’ since 2006, some have ideas of where it could return. Thanks to speculation by Trek Report , there could be a way for Trek to return.

According to this opinion, Universal Studios should license “Star Trek” from Paramount to remove the Marvel Super Hero Island from their Florida theme park. Currently, there is a deal between Disney and Universal that allows the latter to use the Marvel characters at their park. Eventually, this deal could end, and Universal might have to look for a new storyline to fill this area.

“Universal could convert the Super Hero island to Vulcan, Kronos, or even — Deep Space Nine,” the article from Trek Report states . “The current Spider-Man 4D ride could easily be revamped into any number of ‘Star Trek’ experiences. Dr. Doom Fearfall could be rejiggered into Kirk and Sulu’s dive onto the Romulan drill rig from ‘Star Trek (2009).’ The Hulk rollercoaster could be remade into an Escape from the Borg.”

READ NEXT: The Canceled Sequel to ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’

Now Take the Quiz

More heavy on star trek news.

The Next Generation in Star Trek Theme Park Rides

Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton

Note: Star Trek: The Experience closed in September 2008. You can read about the defunct attraction in the following review.

One of the world’s most detailed and engaging theme park attractions wasn’t in a theme park. Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton transported guests into the 24th century for a one-of-a-kind interactive adventure.

Star Trek meets Las Vegas ? You bet! As if the famous gaming capital wasn't otherworldly enough, the ambitious Experience blasted guests to a future alterna-universe that was utterly convincing. You would have sworn that you were beamed into a real-life Trek episode.

From start to finish, the level of commitment to the storytelling was truly astonishing. More than a motion simulator ride , The Experience was a 25-minute immersion into the Trek oeuvre, complete with live actors, multiple sets, shuttle bays, and Klingons. It was holodeck nirvana.

Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 4
Type: Motion-base simulator with highly immersive pre-show.
Height restriction (minimum, in inches): 42
Location: Las Vegas Hilton, just off the Strip.

The fun began in the Hilton’s North Tower. (By the way, the Las Vegas Hilton is now known as the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.) At one end of the Space Quest casino (which, with its laser beams, giant video screens, and touch-sensitive slot machines was an attraction in itself), guests entered the History of the Future museum to the fanfare of various Star Trek theme songs.

A large scale model of the starship Enterprise hung from the ceiling. Props, costumes, video snippets, and other Trek drek from the television shows and movies filled the museum, which doubled as the queue for the attraction. With the displays, there was little risk of line boredom.

Yes, Participants Were Beamed Up

When it was time for crews to report for their missions, a uniformed guide escorted them to a holding area. The guide offered some standard simulator ride warnings and directed guests to watch monitors for more of the usual pre-boarding announcements.

Suddenly the monitors went blank, rays of light enveloped the guests, an unmistakable Trek transporter room sound filled the air, and the room became dark for a moment. When the lights came up, the room was transformed and visitors had been beamed aboard the USS Enterprise, circa the 24th century and Star Trek: The Next Generation .

It was a startling illusion, and the 21st-century guide helped maintain the fantasy by playing along. A breathless Enterprise officer greeted the group and explained that a gang of rogue villains sent Captain Picard back in time in exchange for the Vegas stowaways. The guests’ mission: Get back to the nickel slots where they belonged so that Captain Picard could return and say “Engage!” in his inimitable way. The officer whisked the group off to the bridge.

The actors and sets made the attraction. They had a commanding presence, conveyed a lot of enthusiasm, and never broke character. Looking nifty in their Starfleet uniforms, some of them were busy on the bridge punching buttons and raising shields to avert enemy fire. For the approximately two-dozen guests that shared each Experience, eight performers interacted with them throughout the course of the attraction. That’s a high ratio and helped convey the realism of the attraction.

Where’s the Whoosh?

With its blinking lights, banks of screens, and other familiar touchstones, the bridge was a faithful reproduction. From the bridge, one of the officers led the group to a turbolift—Trek talk for an elevator—for a ride to the shuttle bays level. One quibble: When the doors to the bridge and the turbolift opened and closed, they didn’t make that Trekian “whoosh” sound.

With the ship taking missile hits and frantic communications from the bridge broadcast in the turbolift, the ride to the shuttle bays was fraught with peril. Leaving the turbolift, the officer led the group through one of the Enterprise’s corridors.

The Enterprise officer gave shuttlecraft boarding and safety belt instructions and closed the hatch to send the crew back on its journey to the 21st century. Since motion simulators are ideally suited to mimic space travel , it was a great way to experience warp speed. The Star Trek simulator cabins had windows in front, above, and along their sides and used a domed screen to project an encompassing image. The simulator experience culminated with a precarious ride down the Las Vegas Strip and a big bang above the Hilton.

The ride ended with the obligatory shuffle through the gift shop. Pointy ears anyone? With all that excitement, guests surely worked up quite an appetite, so Quark's Bar and Grill offered items like Glop on a Stick and Klingon Kabob. The restaurant was crawling with Trekkies when it showed the latest Star Trek episode on its large-screen televisions.

The Borg Invaded Las Vegas

Next door to Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton was a second attraction, The Borg Invasion 4-D. It was based on the Star Trek: Voyager television series. Instead of a motion simulator ride, The Borg Invasion was a 3-D movie with sensory effects (making it a “4-D” attraction). It closed when the Star Trek: The Experience closed at the Hilton.

Like Star Trek: The Experience, The Borg Invasion 4-D was not a standard theme park attraction, however. It also incorporated many live actors and engaged guests with a compelling, highly interactive pre-show.

If you are interested in learning more about the Star Trek attractions at the Las Vegas Hilton, check out the wonderful 27-minute documentary, “ The Final Frontier Of Star Trek: The Experience .” Created by Expedition Theme Park and available on YouTube, it includes footage from the actual attraction and also divulges how some of the effects were created (including the transporter room scene).

Other Star Trek Theme Park Attractions

For a short time, Universal Studios Florida offered The Star Trek Adventure. For an additional fee above the cost of admission to the park, it allowed guests to get in costume and act as Trek characters. Using green-screen technology, the guests were inserted into a brief scene based on the original Star Trek television show. Guests were given a VHS copy of their performance to take home. Interestingly, there are strong rumors that Universal Orlando is considering bringing the Star Trek franchise back as part of its planned fourth theme park.

From 2004 to 2007, the roller coaster currently known as Nighthawk at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina was known as BORG Assimilator and incorporated a Star Trek theme. When Cedar Fair bought the Paramount Parks, it dropped all licensed Paramount names and themes, including Star Trek .

Visitors can still ride a themed coaster, Star Trek: Operation Enterprise, at Movie Park Germany in Bottrop. The launched coaster opened in 2017 and is based on Star Trek: The Next Generation .

The Best Attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Why Transformers: The Ride 3D Is Awesome

Could You Handle Disney’s Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Ride?

Best of Universal Studios Florida With Kids

17 Top Family Attractions in Las Vegas

I Spent Two Nights Aboard Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser—Here's What It Was Like

The Complete Guide to Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Your Trip to Las Vegas: The Complete Guide

Best Budget Hotels on the Las Vegas Strip

Where to Find Coasters and Water Slides on the Las Vegas Strip

19 Fun Things to Do in Los Angeles, California at Night

50 Things to Do in Las Vegas This Summer

Las Vegas Must-See Sights and Attractions

What to See and Do on Hollywood Boulevard

Best New Theme Park Attractions for Little Kids

The Best Haunted Attractions

10 great sites for a 'Star Trek' pilgrimage

Forget the beach. Star Trek fans can venture to the 23rd century for vacation this year. Cities and filming sites are playing up their ties to the science fiction series with tours, displays and festivals, says Dayton Ward, author of Hidden Universe Travel Guides: Star Trek: The Klingon Empire (Insight Editions, $19.99), an intergalactic handbook. And with a new series, Star Trek: Discovery , now running on CBS All Access, interest continues to grow. He shares some real-world spots for a “Trekcation” with Larry Bleiberg for USA TODAY.

Riverside, Iowa You’ve got to hand it to the folks of Riverside. Although Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry said that leading character Capt. James T. Kirk was from Iowa, he never named a city. In 1985, the Riverside city council claimed the honor, passing a resolution declaring it to be the cocky commander’s hometown. And Star Trek writers eventually confirmed it, placing scenes in a Riverside of the future. Now the city has an historic marker and museum, and hosts an annual festival. trekfest.com

Star Trek: Original Series Set Tour Ticonderoga, N.Y. No need to beam yourself up to the USS Enterprise. Trekkie extraordinaire James Cawley used original blueprints to painstakingly recreate the original 1966 television studio set in upstate New York, complete with bridge, engine room and sick bay. “It’s jaw-dropping how accurate it is, with the same doors, panels and knobs,” Ward says. startrektour.com

Titan Missile Museum Tucson Even non-Trekkies will be fascinated by this site, which preserves an actual nuclear missile silo. The National Historic Landmark is the sole remaining intercontinental complex in the country. And it also happens to appear in scenes from the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact . titanmissilemuseum.org

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park Agua Dulce, Calif. There’s a reason this tilted rock formation in Los Angeles County looks familiar. “It shows up multiple times in the original show,” Ward says, most famously when Capt. Kirk fights an armor-clad reptile named the Gorn. “You can visit every day — unless it’s closed for filming.” parks.lacounty.gov

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Vulcan, Canada This tiny Canadian prairie town didn’t take its name from the logic-prone alien species. But it profits from the connection with an Enterprise monument and Vulcon, a Trek festival scheduled for July 22-23. “It’s the Star Trek version of Woodstock or Burning Man,” Ward says. The town also plays a starring role in a song and music video by indie band The Rural Alberta Advantage. vulcantourism.com

Valley of Fire State Park Nevada This stunning sandstone park near Las Vegas attracts mountain bikers, hikers and devotees of the 1994 Star Trek: Generations film, who recognize it as the alien planet Veridian III. Ward notes that another film, Galaxy Quest , a parody of Star Trek , was also filmed here. parks.nv.gov

Broken Bow, Okla. The pilot episode of the Star Trek: Enterprise television series takes its name from this southeast Oklahoma town best known for mountain parks and bass fishing. In an example of future history, this is where an alien ship is destined to crash in 2151. “That gets us involved with the Klingon empire for the first time,” Ward says. visitmccurtaincounty.com

Roswell, N.M. Seventy years ago, a tiny New Mexico town made global headlines when the U.S. military reported the crash of a flying saucer. Decades later, the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine claimed responsibility, showing how several of its time-traveling characters caused the scare. The city, now home to a UFO festival, museum and research center, doesn’t discount any theories. seeroswell.com

Naval Air Station Alameda, Calif. This Bay Area military base saw some serious action in the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . It’s where characters Uhura and Chekov raided a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to steal radioactive isotopes to fix their starship. The decommissioned post, now undergoing redevelopment, has a small history museum outlining its World War II history. alamedanavalairmuseum.org

Bozeman, Mont. Mark your calendar for 2063, because this scenic college town will play a monumental role in global history. That’s when a Vulcan ship will arrive and humans and aliens will finally meet. At least that’s how the story plays out in Star Trek: First Contact , actually filmed in California and Arizona. But Ward’s undeterred. “Fifty years from now, maybe fans will gather and see what happens. If I’m still around, I’ll head up there.” bozemanchamber.com

The Star Trek Experience

Following on from our Expedition to the New York New York, this week we are boldly heading back to downtown Las Vegas and exploring the now closed, Star Trek Experience at the Hilton Vegas.

We take a look at what Downtown Vegas almost built that would have overshadowed any other TV show experience. Though sadly this full scale replica of the Starship Enterprise did not make it past the planning stage.

What was eventually built though did go someway of pleasing those disappointing Star Trek fans though…

Star Trek: The Experience

This one of a kind experience was a must do for all Star Trek fans featuring a walk-through experience of the Starship Enterprise followed by a simulator battle. Opening in 1998 after almost three years of construction the experience would remain open for almost 10 years before sadly not prospering and closing in 2008.

There were rumors of the experience reopening elsewhere but so far those plans have no come to fruition.

Did you ever get visit the Star Trek? What did you think?

It clearly was way ahead of its time for a themed ride and even showcases some of the aspects of Disney’s plan for Rise of The Resistance. With themed drinks, restaurant, food and shops this was surely the pioneer of the theme park ‘land’ without ever being inside a theme park.

Let us know what you think of the experience below or in our YouTube comments .

We will see you next time.

[email protected]

Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Privacy Overview

The Inventory

Hey, Remember When Star Trek Did Galaxy's Edge , 20 Years Before Star Wars ?

In-character cast-members posing in front of the Experience’s main entrance.

This week, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens in Walt Disney World, bringing an unprecedented theme park experience to the citizens of Orlando, Florida. Eat the food and drink of a galaxy far, far away! Hop aboard an iconic Star Wars ship! Live in a fantastical world, populated by people in character, an immersive experience! It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before .

Forget Risa—There Could Be a Star Trek-Themed Park Coming to Universal Studios in Orlando, Which is Much Closer

Who wouldn’t want to immerse themselves into their favorite fictional setting for a little while? Star Trek fans have reason to be excited as there’s a rumor that Universal Studios in Orlando, FL may be creating a Star Trek-themed attraction at their park. I know where I’m going to want to go on my next vacation!

Over at the blog Disney and More , an unidentified source (so take all this with a grain of salt, honey lambs) tells them that in order to directly compete with Disney World’s upcoming Star Wars land, Galaxy’s Edge , Universal Studios is working on a Star Trek land. Their source says:

“[A] live stage show is getting shuffled between the Bourne Identity or Star Trek, and a Star Trek Sci-Fi area is being highly considered to hit back WDW DHS Star Wars land. If Universal do a Star Trek Sci-Fi area, it will be very Sci-Fi, city-like and not too alien planet like most would think… and with an anchor attraction. And may be something very similar to the recently announced Sci-Fi “Transformers” area going to Universal Beijing.”

Universal Studios has recently purchased land, so they’re definitely creating something new in the park. They’ve also got to figure out what to do with the space where the now-defunct Terminator 2 3D experience used to be. If they’re bandying about Bourne Identity and Star Trek, chances are one attraction will go in the Terminator spot, and the other will get more land. I’d expect and hope that Star Trek would get an area of its own, if this is indeed happening.

While I could do without the annoying “pitting Star Trek against Star Wars” thing, I think it’s high time for Star Trek to have its own sprawling theme park experience, with several rides and attractions to check out. Since the franchise’s 50th Anniversary, what with the J.J. Abrams’ Kelvin Universe films and the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek is finding new audiences and the already-existing audiences are super-pumped. Plenty of people would be so down for an attraction like this.

But they might not have the funds to go to Jordan to see if that Star Trek attraction has been built yet, or to Germany to check out that Star Trek: Operation Enterprise roller coaster . Orlando is a lot closer.

What do you think? Would you wanna go to a Star Trek land? If so, what should it include? If one of your answers is “Tribble ball pit,” SAME.

(via Screen Rant , image: screencap)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site !

— The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone , hate speech, and trolling.—

More to Explore
Series & Movies

Published Aug 13, 2020

The Five Year Mission of Trek in the Park

For five summers, fans in Portland brought Star Trek to life.

StarTrek.com | Merrick Monroe

Here’s the scene: myself and another guard have Kirk by the arms, confident we’ve apprehended this extra-dimensional interloper, when suddenly he breaks free. I take a double axe handle to the midsection and a judo throw across the room, where I am phasered out of existence. Kirk pauses for dramatic effect and the audience claps. I lie still in the freshly-mown grass, breathing in the smell of summer dirt. It is July 2011 and we are putting on a free theatrical adaptation of “Mirror Mirror.”

I’m “Guard #2” and over the course of the show I’ll get knocked out, phasered again, and then vaporized by the mysterious Tantalus field. Me and the other red shirts have neodymium magnets sewn into our tunics so we can swap the Terran Empire’s dagger emblem for the Starfleet chevron when the plot requires. Adapting even a notoriously thrifty TV show like The Original Series requires a hundred clever substitutions for camera cuts and special effects. The bridge crew have a more intricately choreographed costume swap: sleeves come off, midriffs come out, and screen-accurate steel dirks get strapped to every hip.

Merrick Monroe

My first contact with Trek in the Park was two years earlier. An event listing in the Portland Mercury included the words “ Star Trek ” and “free” and that was enough to get me to a park across town I’d never heard of. What I found was a small stone amphitheater surrounded by a sea of lawn chairs and picnic blankets. At the center was a familiar boxy command chair draped in a sheet. The audience burbled and gossiped until a tinny speaker played that sequence of chimes, the one that comes before “Space: the final frontier.” A man in command gold swaggered out of a nearby tent and delivered a brief speech thanking everyone and requesting pets be kept on leashes.

Year one was “Amok Time”, complete with blaring horns and tearaway battle damage during the Pon Farr ritual. The sets were just the chair and an empty doorframe, but the costumes were vibrant and the acting appropriately big. I was mesmerized, watching these theater kids in primary colors belt out classic ‘60s camp in a quiet city park.

The next year it was “Space Seed” and I got there early to snag a good spot. Within a year Trek in the Park had become a summer ritual for Portland fans and non-fans alike. In between seasons I’d learned some of their names: Captain Kirk was Adam Rosko, an actor from Chicago who’d co-created the production with his sister Amy, who ran the behind-the-scenes. Jessie and Paul were Spock and McCoy, Scotty was Nate, Kaebel and Ryan alternated between Sulu and Chekov episodes. Dana was a punk singer from Kansas City who answered what I presume was a very strange Craigslist post seeking potential Uhuras.

I’m not entirely sure how I got cast as Guard #2 but I suspect it’s because I fit the essential criteria for red shirts: I was stocky, beardless, and unobtrusive. It certainly wasn’t for my acting experience, which was none. Showing up to that first rehearsal in Amy’s backyard was a daunting prospect, and watching the cast and crew banter and snipe felt like walking in on someone else’s family reunion. But after a month of rehearsals I’d memorized my two lines and gotten a feel for stage falls, to the point where if I timed the somersault after the judo throw just right I’d get a neat little backwards skid.

The next year we moved to Portland’s Cathedral Park, which featured a multi-tiered cement stage at the base of a gently sloping hill. Adam and Amy went with “Journey to Babel” for the first show at the new park, an episode that’s not on many top 10 lists. But it’s got everything you’d want in a Star Trek play: weird aliens, ship-to-ship combat, and protracted diplomatic negotiations. For the dramatic blood transfusion scene the production crew created an elaborate contraption complete with green Vulcan blood slowly filling an embedded vial. I played an incidental bridge crewman without any dialogue, but that did mean I got to fly the Enterprise in a few scenes (the console was invisible but I worked out a sequence of button presses).

Dylan Meconis

That was the year things really blew up: the new park could fit thousands of people and we regularly filled it. Voyager ’s Garrett Wang flew out one weekend to do a walk-on role and regale us with backstage shop talk. For a little while — in a very regional way — we were a big deal. People lined up to take pictures with us post-show and we started getting recognized in supermarkets (a phenomenon we called getting “trekognized”). It was exhilarating and terrifying, and we ran up astronomical bar tabs after shows regaling each other with our on-and-off-stage antics.

Inevitably we’d get asked what was next, if we’d do The Next Generation or one of the movies, and we’d reply with “It’s a five year mission.” There were only ever a few TOS episodes suitable for the stage (“City on the Edge of Forever” was a contender but it’s all period dress) and anything requiring heavier uniforms was an invitation for heat stroke. It wasn’t clear, even to us, what would come after.

What was inevitable was that we’d do “Trouble with Tribbles” for year five, and that meant tribbles. Lots of tribbles. A few of the “hero” tribbles were store bought, but most were made by the community that had sprung up around us. The Star Trek fandom contains a hidden army of cosplayers, hobbyists and industrious matriarchs, and the result of their combined labors was a screen-accurate mountain of the grain-gobbling critters, many of which still reside in my apartment.

Trials and Tribble-ations

“Tribbles” maintained the streak, thanks to a lot of hard work by the crew and the fact that it’s a nearly perfect episode of television. Garret Wang came out for another weekend. David Gerrold got a chance to see the script he wrote in 1967 delight a live audience 50 years later. With all due humility, we killed it.

And then it was over. The last scene of the last show in the fifth year of the five year mission. We wrapped, we cried, we got very very drunk and that was it. No more summers in space pajamas. There was some talk of doing a followup, something original and high concept, but nothing ever came together. It’d have meant starting over, without the fans who were just there to see Kirk and Spock. In the meantime folks moved on, couples broke up, and we stopped getting recognized in grocery stores. The last time we were all together at the park it was for a funeral, which isn’t how I would have called things in the summer of 2011.

But you don’t sign on to Starfleet for the retirement package. And even though it only lasted a little while in the middle-aughts, we had a hell of a five year mission. Walking around inside those stories gave us some of the magic they had on screen, on stage and off. If there’s one thing I learned from my time as a redshirt, it’s that dying can be an awfully big adventure.

Ben Coleman (he/him) is a freelance writer from Portland, OR and co-creator of The Long Con from Oni Press.

Get Updates By Email

Move Over, Star Wars Land: A Star Trek World May Be Coming to Universal Studios

By jason serafino | may 26, 2018.

As Disney gears up for the 2019 openings of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at both its Florida and California amusement parks, there may be some sci-fi-themed competition on the horizon. According to Disney and More , there’s a rumor out there that Universal is planning a fourth Orlando theme park, which will include a land dedicated to all things Star Trek .

The blog also states that there have been rumblings that a Star Trek stage show at Universal would take the place of the now-defunct Terminator 2 3D show, but that’s just one option, with a Bourne Identity attraction being the other. Instead, the potential Star Trek show could be expanded to a whole area of the rumored fourth park, with a focus on a recreation of a sci-fi city, according to the site.

This rumored park would be the most high-profile Trek attraction since Las Vegas's Star Trek: The Experience (as seen in the main image). Housed at the Las Vegas Hilton from 1998 to 2008, Star Trek: The Experience included a restaurant based on Quark's bar from Deep Space Nine and the popular Borg Invasion 4D , which was an attraction that combined motion platforms, live actors, and a short 3D film to simulate a Borg takeover.

Any potential Star Trek land would be much further off than Galaxy's Edge's fall 2019 debut in Orlando. But with two new Trek movies on the horizon, and Star Trek: Discovery returning to CBS All Access for a second season in 2018, the venerable sci-fi franchise might just be able to ride a wave of momentum to become real competition for Star Wars— if not at the box office, then at least as a theme park.

[h/t Screen Rant ]

Mobile Site
Staff Directory
Advertise with Ars

Filter by topic

Biz & IT
Gaming & Culture

Front page layout

engage! —

The restored star trek enterprise-d bridge goes on display in may, the bridge is going on display at sci-fi world musem in santa monica, california..

Jonathan M. Gitlin - Mar 22, 2024 4:48 pm UTC

A recreation of the Star Trek The Next Generation Enterprise-D bridge

More than a decade has gone by since three Star Trek: The Next Generation fans first decided to restore the bridge from the Enterprise-D . Plans for the restored bridge morphed from opening it up to non-commercial uses like weddings or educational events into a fully fledged museum , and now that museum is almost ready to open. Backers of the project on Kickstarter have been notified that Sci-Fi World Museum will open to them in Santa Monica, California, on May 27, with general admission beginning in June.

It's not actually the original set from TNG , as that was destroyed while filming Star Trek: Generations , when the saucer section crash-lands on Veridian III. But three replicas were made, overseen by Michael Okuda and Herman Zimmerman, the show's set designers. Two of those welcomed Trekkies at Star Trek: The Experience , an attraction in Las Vegas until it closed in 2008 .

The third spent time in Hollywood, then traveled to Europe and Asia for Star Trek: World Tour before it ended up languishing in a warehouse in Long Beach. It's this third globe-trotting Enterprise-D bridge that—like the grit that gets an oyster to create a pearl—now finds a science-fiction museum accreted around it. Well, mostly—the chairs used by Riker, Troi, Data, and some other bits were salvaged from the Las Vegas exhibit.

Unlike the actual set, which was made from wood, the replica is made of metal and fiberglass. The restoration was originally supposed to take up to two years , but the project ended up being a far bigger challenge.

When Ars checked in with the Enterprise-D bridge restoration in 2014, the science-fiction museum plan had taken shape. But that change of plans did not sit well with some of the project's original supporters, particularly after an imperfect re-creation of the captain's chair—which remained lost until recently—was sold on eBay.

Things got even uglier in 2018 when Huston Huddleston, who led the project, was arrested and then convicted for possessing child pornography. Although Huddleston still appears listed as the project's CEO on its Kickstarter page , that appears to be an artifact of its creation, and John Purdy is listed as the CEO of the Sci-Fi World Museum on its About Us page . However, Huddleston's mother remains as the museum's Chief Financial Officer.

The Enterprise-D isn't the only bridge you'll be able to find at the museum —there's also a replica of the bridge from Star Trek: The Original Series , which previously lived in a wax museum in Buena Park, California. Other exhibits include a hall of robots, as well as the "Bubbleship" and a drone from the movie Oblivion .

It's also not the only recent re-creation of the Enterprise-D's bridge. Okuda and his wife Denise both helped Paramount re-create the iconic set for the third season of Picard . The new Enterprise-D set can even be explored on Google Maps .

And earlier this month, it looked like Jean-Luc Picard's long-lost chair might be sold at auction. However, the day saw an agreement between CBS Studios and the auctioneer Propstore, which will return the chair to CBS's Star Trek Archive, which plans to restore and display it in the coming year.

reader comments

Promoted comments.

Channel Ars Technica

Home » Star Trek Coming to Universal Orlando?

Star Trek Coming to Universal Orlando?

May 1, 2024 | Toronto Stage Used For ‘Discovery’ Renamed “The Star Trek Stage” By Pinewood Studios
May 1, 2024 | Star Trek Event Coming To ‘World Of Tanks’ Online Game – Watch Mission Preview
April 30, 2024 | Star Trek Team Was Top Fundraiser For Pancreatic Cancer Action Network 2024 Charity Walk
April 30, 2024 | See Alexander, Nog, And Jake Deal With Q Jr’s Time Loop Shenanigans In ‘Sons Of Star Trek’ #2 Preview
April 29, 2024 | Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 506 With New Images. Trailer And Clip From “Whistlespeak”

Paramount Theme Park In China Featuring Star Trek-Themed Area Moving Forward

| November 12, 2021 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 106 comments so far

A new theme park project of interest to Star Trek fans is getting closer to becoming realized.

The Final Frontier coming to China

A Paramount theme park announced two years ago for Kunming China just got a big boost. This week Chinese authorities announced (as reported by Variety ) the project is moving forward with $8 billion in funding for a large development that will include a 643-acre Paramount resort.

The project is owned, funded and operated through Chinese institutions, with a license from ViacomCBS to use theme assets from Paramount and other properties.

The proposed Paramount Park Kunming will include six themed area including a “Final Frontier” area themed around Star Trek with a number of different attractions. The other areas of the park would be: Paramount Boulevard, Adventure City, Wonderland, a “Peanuts” area, and a “Dinotopia” area.

Artist rendering for Star Trek-themed are of a Paramount Park (Planet Attractions)

Construction has yet to start on the project, but there is a targeted opening date of June 2024.

Viacom has been mostly out of the themed attractions business since selling off their Paramount Parks division in 2006. The Las Vegas-based Star Trek: The Experience closed in 2008.

In the ensuing years a few licensed projects (like the Paramount Park Kunming ) have been announced around the world that would use Paramount franchises, including Star Trek, yet so far none have been realized. Some have fizzled out, including one in Murcia Spain , and another in Jordan . There are still a couple of others that may still come to be. A UK project formerly called Paramount London has been renamed The London Resort, but it is still expected to include some Paramount-themed attractions for its planned 2024 open. And Paramount Movie Park Korea was announced over a decade ago, with the latest opening target set for 2025.

Artist rendering for proposed Paramount Park Spain

Currently, the only operating Trek-themed attraction in the world is the Star Trek: Operation Enterprise roller coaster at Movie Park Germany . This ride also includes a Star Trek-themed “Federation Plaza” in front of the coaster’s entrance.

Federation Plaza at Movie Park Germany

Find more stories on Star Trek events and attractions .

History , TOS

Lost Original USS Enterprise Model From ‘Star Trek’ Returned To Gene Roddenberry’s Son

Walter Koenig joins The 7th Rule podcast

Celebrity , Interview , Podcasts , TOS

Walter Koenig To Join ‘The 7th Rule’ Podcast For ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ Rewatch

Comics , DS9 , TNG

See Sisko Battle Kahless In Preview Of ‘Star Trek’ #5

Conventions/Events/Attractions , Star Trek: Prodigy

Review: The ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Experience At CAMP Brooklyn Is Fun For The Whole Family

Pent up demand for Star Trek in China?

Do/did the Chinese watch Star Trek?

I’ll just say that thanks to Chinese vendors, Star Trek cosplay is much more affordable.

As a long-term resident of China with a Chinese wife and daughter, It’s good to see that the Star Trek ethos of respect for other cultures is alive and well in this community

Thank you for those thoughts, comrade.

Considering there are what, a billion?, people in China, I imagine there is diversity of opinions and Chinese Star Trek fans.

Don’t know how things changed in the decade since, but in 2009 I took a friend from Tianjin to JJ’s movie. She knew nothing about Star Trek, nothing about Spock, and Leonard Nimoy showing up claiming he’s future Spock made as much sense to her as Sean Connery showing up in Casino Royale saying he’s future Daniel Craig would make to a Bond newcomer.

Other Chinese friends who saw the movie also expressed confusion about the plot to me at the time.

JJ had boasted in the press that his movie was for Trek newcomers. Yet she didn’t understand and hated the film. Never trusted JJ again after that really (and to be fair my disappointments in his SW sequels exacerbated that).

Still have fond memories of my one visit to the Star Trek Experience before it closed in Vegas. I even saw a couple get married in Quark’s Bar!

That effect where you get beamed on to the Enterprise was one of the greatest theme park experiences ever.

Never heard about it. Please explain more fully.

You’re about to go on a generic simulator ride, when suddenly the lights go out, spotlights start strobing, and a ton of wind rushes around you as you hear a Klingon transport effect, which is superceded by a Starfleet transporter. As the sounds die down, the lights comeback up suddenly, and you’re on the Enterprise D transporter pad. An ensign explains to you that you’re on a starship in the 24th century, and that someone needs to speak to you, and they walk you to the bridge.

Everything about the rooms you’re in and the uniforms everyone’s wearing is a perfect recreation of TNG. It was incredible

Yeah… I’m glad I got there before it closed. Did the simulator as well as the Borg 4D thing. Which actually wasn’t as good as the motion simulator. But the place was crowded. And I bought a 6 pack of Romulan Ale from Quarks.

In the show they need to move Starfleet HQ to Beijing.

Better yet, make the head of Starfleet or the Federation a Uyghur person. For a brighter future, y’know.

Great idea of you want to lose the chinese market

Great idea using this devilish “Vulcan” character and a Black woman on the bridge… if you want to lose the Southern market. And she does what? She kisses the White captain?! Dear lord, what will they think…?

And how about this Russian? We might lose all the real Americans in the audience!

And so it goes.

Sulu, too; the time between the surrender of Japan and the premiere of Star Trek was roughly the same as the time between the USS Cole bombing and today. Anti-Japan feeling was alive and well.

Trek may have lost some audience members with these decisions but it didn’t affect the show being broadcast in the US. I have no idea how the general Chinese public would feel about an Uyghur as head of Starfleet or the Federation but it is pretty clear that the Chinese government would very likely simply ban the show in China if that happened. Of course, you can argue whether appeasing the Chinese government should be Trek’s focus but given the strict censorship in China the consequences of offending the Chinese government would be bigger than offending a few folks in the South during the 60’s. You may not like, I may not like it but companies tend to put economic considerations over moral concerns.

Indeed companies do. That’s why, for example, you’re seeing a lot more Chinese characters in films. Or why studios like big action flicks with little talking. (That latter one is not just for China but for the whole world.) And if it ended there…but of course it doesn’t. For about forty years Hollywood had no problem making movies about the Cold War. Do you think there will *ever* be, say, a James Bond movie in which China is the bad guy?

And I’d add: Indeed companies do. The problem is that those same companies love to hold themselves out as moral exemplars. And they love attacking the “easy” targets they find distasteful. But somehow, when it comes to genocide…crickets.

I guess the difference during the Cold War was that Hollywood didn’t really try to make money in the Eastern bloc countries back then.

There’s never been a James Bond film with a true Soviet intelligence agent as the bad guy. The closest was the teasers in TSWLM and Goldeneye. Bond *thought* he was fighting the Soviets in the first half of FRWL, but he wasn’t. I suppose you could argue Koskov in TLD never formally broke with GRU. But it’s quite remarkable that Fleming and the Broccolis were careful to avoid portraying the Soviets as villains.

You’re right, I was thinking that as I typed it. Although the Afghan fighters in Living Daylights were fighting the Soviets, of course, even if they weren’t really Bond’s main enemy. And there’s certainly a lot of Soviet *funding* of various matters- SMERSH is, after all, a Soviet organization, even if they kind of downplayed it into SPECTRE. (It’s of course much more obvious in the books.) Zorin was a Soviet creation, even if he got out of control, and so on. And of course the *existence* of Russia, and the Cold War, was very much an explicit presence. But the most we’ve ever gotten about China is Yeoh’s character (a Trek connection!), and she’s very much the good guy, and the use of China in Skyfall (never with China’s involvement, of course), and…I think that’s it. They’ve never even filmed in China. (Apart from Hong Kong when it was British.)

Twice they wanted to set a movie in China and do a motorcycle chase on the Great Wall. Both times were denied by the Chinese Government. They wanted it for The Man with the Golden Gun and then tried again in Tomorrow Never Dies.

Except it was SUPER rare for a Bond villain to be a foreign government. It was normally some megalomaniac or an evil organization that operated in the shadows. Off the top of my head I can think of one Bond film where the main baddie was an actual Soviet. And the movie went to great lengths to distance that guy from the rest of the Soviet Government

I’m a Southerner from that era. “Few” is gross misrepresentationion of the offended. Jim Crow and Separate but unequal weren’t implemented, maintained and supported by just a “few” white Southerners.

Best Star Trek theme I ever saw was the proposed Last Vegas early 1990s almost full scale Starship Enterprise 1701A replica but the cheapskates at the studio decided against it even though they were not even funding it directly! They felt it would not be a good brand fit……..!

It was cool as hell, but there was zero chance that Enterprise hotel/casino could actually have been built. All sorts of engineering and regulatory obstacles.

As much as I want to see Star Trek attractions in the world, and as much as I want the people of China to be able to enjoy this, these kind of deals have had palpable effects on free speech in the West. I doubt any Star Trek actor would feel able to raise the plight of the Uyghur people without risking their employment now. Sad to say it, but I think the only solution in the short-term is not to make your business dependent on income from the Chinese market.

As a resident of China with a Chinese wife and daughter I have to say that the Western Perspective on the levels of freedom of speech here are a littls skewed. Actually, people do talk openly here about controvertial subjects…. but at the same time, they caution against westerners from throwing stones in glass houses. China is not a perfect nation, far from it, they have different challenges and both the leaders and the people will occasionally have perspectives or make decisions we wouldn’t necessarily agree with. But let’s not judge based on what we might see as a produce from a skewed perspective. I urge anyone here to visit China when the world returns to normal, you may have your suspicions confirmed…. but you will also see that China is far more complex then the BBC, CNN or FOX would have you believe. Star Trek has a huge amount of potental since the Chinese people have insatiable curiosity… freedom of speech and the rights of individuals are indeed LESS important than social cohesion… but instead of viewing it as a negative, I try to view it as simply different. Afterall, if we didn’t have the Enlightenment… John Locke… Thomas Hobbes or Thomas Paine… what kind of a society would we have today? China simply has a different history with different people and different ideas who has shaped their society along the way. Is there oppression of miniority groups? Sure! But just because this happens in America, doesn’t mean it can’t happen elsewhere like in Chi….. wait…. I got confused there. Anyway! My point is, we are all developing and growing, China isn’t finished yet… neither is America. Maybe Star Trek can help things a little even if the creatives have to compromise (like Roddenberry did in the 60s).

“Afterall, if we didn’t have the Enlightenment… John Locke… Thomas Hobbes or Thomas Paine… what kind of a society would we have today?”

Uh, one that places LESS importance on free speech and the rights of individuals.

Exactly his point! This was a western evolution of thought! There they went through a different path! And Star Trek is here to say that we should respect other cultures, even though we can strive to be a benign influence on them. But NOT by reshaping them exactly to our image! IDIC!

This is a good point. Looking at it from the outside and forming an opinion like that is easy. Living there and recognizing the truths are the harder parts. I’ve lived in two countries that many consider “oppressive” nowadays for long periods of time and when you start living there you recognize that the outside perspective is nowhere near how you really expect it to be. In fact I had some of the best moments of my life in these countries. It’s basically like that saying about walking in the others shoes for a short while.

Yes, but only when we walk in the shoes of the downtrodden, the oppressed, those kept in camps for example, can we know the true character of a government.

I suggest we don’t buy what this bot is selling. “Patrick” speaks of the BBC, CNN, and FOX, but neglects to mention the numerous human rights organizations and countries around the world with their own voices. One doesn’t have to watch cable news to read their reports, one only has to read. Brought to you by a free press.

Hello Danny Boy – I appreciate your response and understand you are talking from a particular perspective. I’m not saying that issues with how ethnic minorities are treated in China is made up by the free press. Indeed, if you type “human rights in China” into any search engine you would be rightly convinced after a short time that crimes have been committed. The point I am making is that if you ONLY type “human rights in China” and then make the leap that ALL chinese people and the ENTIRE chinese government is responsible you could fall down a rabbit hole. Afterall, I could type “african americans in south central LA” or “Guantanomo Bay” into a Search engine and if that was all I bothered to do to learn about America…. my god. Ironically, one of my jobs here in China is to convince Chinese people to visit America who are afraid to do so becaus they fear the government or the people. They are not wrong to learn about the dangers that exist in America, but I always tell them to try and learn the whole picture. Finally, the crack you made about me being a bot…. maybe I am, maybe I aren’t…. but should you respect Synthetic Life? Or are you a Romulan… afterall ALL romulans hate synthetic life… or maybe its a small %

Bot or not, you sound like a propagandist. Something the Romulan state would be familiar with as well. :-)

And I was not making the assumption that ALL Chinese people are responsible. The numerous protests and petitions are not directed at the people, they’re directed at the Chinese government. Those who are responsible.

To be convinced of crimes committed, listen to the survivors. Have you tried?

Hello Danny – like I said, we are voicing two different perspectives. IDIC

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations… huh, interesting concept. I wonder if free speech and the rights of individuals are covered?

I think it should! I mean, I have been free to sit here and china and make my point that we should try to respect the dfferent perspectives of others, and you have been free to sit whereever you are and tell me I’m wrong. So I think we both enjoy freedom of speech….. to an extent. For example, here in China, you can express a personal opinion about government policy, but you aren’t allowed to try to convince others to agree with you. You cannot talk about certain things in that context such as Hong Kong, Tibet or Taiwan. It’s also illegal to spread dis-information about Covid-19 (even though its probably no dis-information). However, in America, I can certainly say whatever I want to whoever I want, wherever I want without consequence……. or can I? I would argue that “freedom of speech” comes with caveats everywhere. In China, they are concrete, they don’t change and in that way, they are perhaps easier to avoid. In the West it seems that taboo topics seem to change every few seconds….. so I have my own opinion, but I do feel more “free” in China compared to the West. I know that sounds crazy, but… its my honest held opinion and I absolutely accept if you feel differently – you’re not wrong, you’re not a bot and you’re not a propogandarist :)

For example, here in China, you can express a personal opinion about government policy, but you aren’t allowed to try to convince others to agree with you

There’s glory for you.

I have been free to sit here and china and make my point that we should try to respect the dfferent perspectives of others, and you have been free to sit whereever you are and tell me I’m wrong.

There was a well-known anecdote told in the Soviet Union under Brezhnev:

An American and a Soviet citizen are having a political debate about their respective political systems. The American says, “We have freedom of speech in America. I can go to the town square and criticize Nixon as much as I want.”

The Soviet replies, “We have freedom of speech here, too. I can go to Red Square and criticize Nixon as much as I want, too.”

Pretty stunned to see someone take this literally.

Danny: I tried listening to George Floyd. But he was dead. Last I heard he’d been having trouble breathing with a cop’s knee atop his neck. You need to wake up and realize the USA is also guilty of rampant buses of human rights. Don’t be a patriotic ostrich.

And yet the Derek Chauvin, the cop who killed George Floyd, was prosecuted and convicted of murder. Has that happened to torturers in China?

There were mass protests in the US throughout the summer of 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Would that be allowed in China?

The governor of Minnesota criticized the Trump administration. Would a regional governor in China be allowed to openly criticize Xi? Ask Bo Xilai.

By all means, argue that the US need to do more on civil rights, or even that the “China threat” has been exaggerated; but to draw moral equivalence between the US and PRC political systems is outrageous.

The point I am making is that if you ONLY type “human rights in China” and then make the leap that ALL chinese people and the ENTIRE chinese government is responsible you could fall down a rabbit hole

Since no one has made that claim, this point is an utter strawman. The only person who has appointed himself to speak on behalf of “all Chinese people” is you, by virtue of having a Chinese wife.

You’ve made no mention of the clampdown in Hong Kong, or the deterioration in cross-strait relations with the ROC, all of which involve “Chinese people” and yet paint the PRC in an extremely poor light.

“ and then make the leap that ALL chinese people”

China is…brace yourself…*not* a democracy. So obviously, this line is the mother of all strawmen. Anyone who criticizes China knows full well that the actual Chinese people have little to do with the horrors.

“and the ENTIRE chinese government is responsible”

Another news flash: China is a *totalitarian state*. The entire Chinese government (and country) is a single operation. There’s no splitting the government. The government *is*, by definition, “the entire government.”

At first I just thought you were someone who seriously went native, but now I’m thinking, based on a bunch of little things, that you’re one of the China’s army of paid commentators. Apologies if you’re not, but that’s the world we live in.

You mean like the under aged children of illegal immigrants who were locked in cages in some positively abhorrent conditions? If you cut-and-pasted what was happening to those children at the hands of the American government into an article that said those same actions were being done by the Chinese, you’d be having a stroke complaining about it.

Please do not get me wrong. I LOVE America. I served in our armed forces after I graduated college and had a good job, because I firmly believed I needed to give back to a country that allows me to live the lifestyle I love. There is no other place on Earth I would rather live.

But, loving your home doesn’t mean you turn an eye on its flaws. We have our own scars of human rights violations, from slavery, to the trail of tears, to Japanese internment camps, to locking up children in cages. Have you tried walking in the shoes of any of those, who were downtrodden right here on our own shores?

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Yes, there are some horrible human rights violations that are ongoing in China, and I bristle at some of the things there government has done and is doing. But we can not stand here without realizing there is blood on our hands, too, and if allowing one of our more liberal, freedom promoting franchises into China helps stir a bit of that feeling in those that watch it, much as it might have done for racism in America in the ’60’s, then I look at it as a good thing.

Agreed 100% sir! I’m afraid I don’t think I’m going to change anyones minds on here…. its only been three hours and our liberal star trek fans have called me a bot, mao, propagandirist and comrade (which I assume its meant as a derogatory statement). I guess Kurtzman is right to focus on flash over substance…

I mean I absolutely understand where you are coming from I live in Turkey and I am Turkish and I am proud to be Turkish. I am also aware of the negative stuff going on in my country and the blatant human rights violations happening, but this shouldn’t be the only way other people view my country. There is still freedom and I enjoy living here, and believe me I lived in different European countries too, but I still come back to Turkey in the end. All I am saying is that the good should also be viewed with the bad and not to judge an entire country or people just because of the incompetence of some politicians.

I agree alphantrion,

No country is perfect. They all have their problems. I’m American, we may not have as severe human rights issues as other places but we certainly have them just the same, certainly after 9/11. And America always pretend like we are the beacon of democracy and freedom and yet January 6th proved that people will happily try to overturn democracy because they didn’t like the results of an election. For the first time in my lifetime Trump is the first President who tried to create an all out coup. This happens in third world countries, not America. The irony is if he attempted that in a lesser country, he would be in jail somewhere.

And we look like hypocrites in the world trying to preach to others while ignoring our own issues at times.

But I fear the “leadership” will only co-opt the spirit of Trek to further the goals of the one-party state. Nothing against the Chinese people though.

I guess my point is that if all you know about Chinese leadership is that its a “one-party state” we can talk more and I’ll tell you what else it is. Like I said time and time again, China IS IN FACT everything you are afraid it is… but its only 10% of the whole picture. Just like South Central LA, just like Portland…

So, they’re building Star Trek theme parks in South Central and Portland, too? Cool.

They are building the one in China in a city called Kunming, it’s about a 4 hour drive from my home so I feel pretty lucky! I’ve already arranged a road trip with some of my friends – I’ve been able to “indoctrinate” some of them into liking Star Trek recently

Just like South Central LA, just like Portland…

Dead wrong. Not “just like South Central LA.”

Whatever socioeconomic issues South Central LA has, it is not a one-party state. It conducts free and fair elections. South Central LA has sent us one of the most senior members of the California congressional delegation, Maxine Waters, who was one of the most vocal critics of Republican administrations from Reagan onward. It has also helped elect Karen Bass, another senior member of Congress and vocal Trump critic.

China does not conduct free and fair elections; it has a few sham opposition parties (as Pei Minxin once observed) but is a de-facto one party state; and regional leaders risk defenestration if they oppose national leadership, as the case Bo Xilai illustrates.

You’re the very definition of a modern whataboutist.

Hello Sir – thank you for your reply. Let me explain the nuance of my comparison.

Basically, I am making the point that Star Trek should not be excluded in China because of the politics and society that we find personally disagreeable or because of crimes (moral or otherwise) committed by the government, because Star Trek has never been excluded from America.

As I have said elswhere, America was droppng Napalm on Vietnamese villages & propping up 1 party dictatorships with America tax dollars while broadcasting TOS and TNG and opening up the Las Vegas theme park…

Your argument is that since China has a one party and no real elections, they don’t deserve Star Trek. If this s a requirement then maybe we should exmaine more closely democracies around the world and ask ourselves if we are truly willing and able to impose that requirement.

Many feel that political plurality is a good thing and maybe you’re right. I personally don’t see one party or ten parties or direct elections or not inherently good or bad.

Almost every nation on Earth is guilty of human rights abuses, homeboy. Including the good ol’ US of A, in case you haven’t done your homework.

I agree with your objectivity. Every state (and perhaps some in this forum) have a ways to go before they can live up the ideals we hold dear in our Star Trek experience

Another utter strawman; the question is to what extent “human rights abuses” pervade the political culture. This is before we get to the issue of free and fair elections.

Freedom House compiles annual statistics on the level of democracy in all countries in the world. It shows some backsliding in the US recently, sure. But Freedom House still rates the US, and most of Europe, as “free.” (It also rates Mongolia as free, which was another China-adjacent country that left China’s orbit in 1949.)

Some great discussion here, and I particularly welcome thoughts from our friend residing in China.

My original concern, which I don’t believe has been addressed, is that this move will cool free speech in the West .This has happened before – just ask Daryl Morey and the NBA, or John Cena and Universal Pictures. Corporations are acutely aware that criticism of China by their employees, even in a personal capacity, will cost them millions in lost revenue. Morey and Cena’s comments were made “off the court” or “off camera”, so one can only imagine the straight-up censorship that takes place when it comes to the actual content these companies produce. When every major media corporation has billions in revenue dependent on the approval of the Chinese Communist Party, this becomes a serious concern – what art isn’t created, what reporting isn’t produced, what voices aren’t raised as a result?

To those arguing that the U.S. is no better than China, this is not a serious comparison. For sure, America is corrupt, cruel, discriminatory… the list goes on. But contrast this with China, which rounds up millions of Uyghurs in the night, takes them to re-education camps, separates parents from children, seeks to eradicate their culture, uses them for slave labour, beats those who step out of line, and orchestrates the systematic sterilisation and rape of women. This is an injustice on a historic scale, and not remotely comparable to anything the U.S. has done is recent memory.

Final point – there is a fundamental distinction to be made between a country’s leadership and it’s people. I have nothing but contempt for the Chinese Communist Party, and nothing but love and respect for the Chinese people.

Thank you for your measured response and I understand fully the points you make. I would like to address the third paragraph. I teach US history so indeed, if I were to confine myself to “recent” memory, the US has made huge strides in how it treats people different from them. And indeed, maybe the caveat you use in your third paragraph “in recent memory” is perhaps the most important distinction between the American and Chinese governments.

But I would like to make the point that while Star Trek TOS was on air in the 1960s/70s, the US was dropping Napalm on Vietnamese villages and putting Native Americans into “schools” to teach them how to be more like white folks.

Is Star Trek at all a thing in China? It would be nice if it were. They need a vision of an optimistic future just like everyone else does.

Hello – as a resident of China with a Chinese wife and daughter I can tell you that western media perspective on the Chinese people is incredibly under-developed. They have a huge amount in common with westerners with the same hopes and fears. They work hard for their families and also make mistakes and commit crimes. They can be both radicalized and inspired by social media and they love sci-fi. The Star Trek brand in China however is quite weak but Chinese people have insatiable curiosity and I am personally flying the Federation Flag from my apartment here in the heart of China.

I can’t imagine Discovery ever being broadcast in China or Russia because of LGBT themes. Do they broadcast any Star Trek shows?

Hello Eric – they do show the movies but they cut a lot of stuff out, such as LGBT themes. And indeed, I expect this to rub people the wrong way and with good reason. However, I would like to be the objective point;

LGBT equality has come along way in the west, but the rest of world let America and Europe get there on their own without preaching to them from the outside, so let China get there on their own too? I can tell you that in the past 10yrs there has been a significant improvement in the treatment of homosexuals in China.

The second point I’d like to make, is that I have seen many instances where people have been offended by the apparent extreme focus on someones sexuality and the shoe-horning in of “diverse” characters that actually aren’t that interesting to watch on screen.

So it is possible that we can go too far in either direction and maybe a slow and steady approach is the only way. That being said, I do wish that some of my gay friends here in China felt more comfortable in being themselves… but I also had religious people in the UK who felt the same way. No society is perfect.

Hello Eric – I did post my reply to you but it didn’t get through the moderators, I don’t know why. I didn’t say anything controvertial and was very honest and objective. But free speech has it’s limits in the US….. haha Anyways, yes it does and it does have things cut.

Sometimes certain words trigger a review by the mods. Also any posts with links are subject to review.

This means that a post can seem to disappear for several hours until it it’s cleared for posting.

Most of us who post regularly get used to this, but I’m sure that it could be disconcerting if you’re new to this board.

FWIW, I posted a long response to the initial post about China above, which never made it through moderation.

That’s way I’m always very weary of making long posts. I like to make sweet and short posts, saves me headaches.

Discovery is readily available in Russia on Netflix.

Has Discovery every been broadcast on over-the-air television anywhere outside of the US and Canada?

Wasn’t it on Sky in the UK? I vaguely remember reading that but I don’t live in the UK.

Yes, DSC Season 1 was broadcast in the UK (sometime last year, I think).

Yes, let’s let the one-party totalitarian state be the harbingers of the optimistic future of Gene Roddenberry. Looks cool though…

I would like to engage with you respectfully and without judgement so I can share with you some of my experiences living in China along with my perspective having able to compare the UK, US and China. If you’re open to that, let me know

No thanks Mao

In that case, live long and prosper.

You could have just left it at no thinks, but you just HAD to add an ethnic slur, too, eh?

Why is “Mao” an ethnic slur? It has nothing to do with ethnicity and everything to do with totalitarianism. It’s sad that some people today see race in EVERYTHING.

I believe the logic is the fact that Patrick keeps referring to his wife an child as Chinese and himself as a “resident” and not as a citizen of the PRC establishes that his ethnicity is something other than Chinese.

Don’t care what the author’s ethnicity is. Not what my post was about. Another poster thought someone calling someone else “Mao” was an ethnic slur. Which it obviously is not. For reasons I explained above.

Well, the fact that much of the world considers Mao a notorious mass murderer of millions, and not an epitome of Chinese Enlightenment, is likely why it’s considered a slur akin to labeling an ethnoGerman, “Der Fuhrer”.

But that’s not racial in any way. It just denotes an evil human being. I guess the question to you would be why do you automatically associate being evil with specific ethnicities?

Because of Hollywood’s racist evil villains in the 30s and 40s? Some of which they kept going for decades after. Ming, The Merciless, anyone?

Really? You are using examples from 80-90 years ago? Sorry. That doesn’t fly today. It sounds to me like you are going out of your way to find racism where it doesn’t exist. Sadly too many people today have been doing that. It’s actually not helping things.

I’d love to hear what you have to say, actually.

I’d like to know whatever happened to the Trek theme park which had been planned for Jordan (by it’s King).

As someone who lives in the country next door, I was hoping…and he actually appeared on the show! But apparently, nothing.

I know she is Malaysian Chinese, but still have to say – And some wonder why CBS and now P+ want a Michelle Yeoh series??? I guess it doesnt have to be a Section 31 show, but on merit alone, it was easy to see why they wanted her in the Trek universe. And now it makes even more sense.

So Paramount will water down the show even further to ensure their Chinese overlords don’t object. Ironic when Star Trek is about fighting against what the Jinping dynasty is doing to innocent people right now.

I wonder what the reaction would be if it were Dubai…

Probably about as harsh at the criticism of Qatar getting the 2022 World Cup.

I have wondered for a while: Star Trek’s fanbase seems to be in English speaking countries, the main exception being…Germany. Does anyone know why it’s so popular there?

I have my pet theory about that. There are many different factors. But to put it in one word I would say: LESSING

… and Karl May

Interesting! Westerns have also been pretty popular in Germany, no?

I think the design in Germany looks much better, the proposed design for China looks too JJTrek.

In my opinion, those who think that Star Trek belongs in China now do not understand what China is about under the present government , and nor do they understand what Star Trek is really about. The two philosophies couldn’t be more different.

Remember when we did this kind of thing on the west?

We still do. New theme park rides and attractions are being built literally all of the time.

Disney has dropped billions into their Star Wars lands. Got to see it before the plague, so I remember it quite well.

I recall when Paramount was in the theme park business locally. They took over Great America and among other things there were actors in TNG uniforms roaming around the park in character. I guess the earlier failure of Paramount Parks here in the US is why they aren’t doing this here. Which is unfortunate for the US. Where honestly the bulk of the Trek fans are.

I do find it disheartening they are planning this for China. I understand the $$ aspect of it but find such cooperation with a regime that has performed so very badly in the human rights category (not to mention other obvious atrocities) to be distasteful at best.

It isn’t Star Trek, but what I find interesting is the involvement of the Peanuts characters. Paramount released the Peanuts home video catalog for a while and still might, but they never had theme park rights. Cedar Fair, who bought some of Paramount’s theme park assets have the Peanuts rights; but only because they came with their purchase of Knott’s Berry Farm in 1997. Somebody is making licensing money off of this park besides CBS. I’m curious if it is Cedar Fair, or Sparky’s heirs directly.

I can’t figure out where to post a comment/response, so I’m just making a new one.

IS STAR TREK A THING IN CHINA? No. If you think the evil Chinese thought police would allow OTA or broad closed circuit presentation of a show that prominently features a competent Japanese character you don’t know anything about the evil, individual-averse Chinese government – and you should just read the comments of the Chinese government tool that is super-trolling this posting.

The evil Chinese government allow IDIC?

The uncontrolled dictatorship of the Chinese government embrace a television show that is prominently about freedom of thought, individual contribution, the right to self determination and possession, and the individual or small group making determinations of good or bad? (you’d only be able to see about 14 episodes of TOS and 38 of TNG – and even then any scene with Sulu or mention of Sulu would be cut as would the rest of the episodes!)

Get a grip! Sympathy building for the evil, soul sucking, genocidal Chinese government is the ultimate offense against western and eastern ideas and ideals, Star Trek tenets, and the long history of Chinese philosophy. Don’t be confused by the Chinese government’s broad, unrelenting efforts to rehabilitate their evils and the unending efforts of Paramount to sell anything to anyone at any time under any condition if they make a buck.

Remember the lab that jumped at the chance to use CRSPR tech to genetically engineer human embryos…

This thread jumped the rails in a hurry…..

I remember when there was a USS Tian An Men in Starfleet service.

Can we expect that to be retconned as part of the price of this theme park?

Tian An Men is actually a very important square (plaza) in Beijing. It’s like the National Mall in Washington DC (without the water). So naming anything after it is no insult to the Chinese people or government. It’s only a ‘dirty word’ in the West. And, frankly, I’m skeptical about the negative reports about it. I saw ZERO people killed. I saw ONE guy (who the tanks stopped for). Did you see anything I didn’t see? And can you name / ID one person who was killed?

Star Trek attractions

View history

Star Trek Adventure 1988 Hollywood venue poster

Star Trek Adventure , one of the first official attractions

Several officially licensed and/or sanctioned Star Trek attractions and events have been organized since the late 1980s. Typically, these entail specially-produced events and/or activities such as concerts, live performances, tours, special theatrical screenings, rides and other activities aimed at Star Trek universe-immersed (on occasion educational) entertainment for audiences and visitors.

As such they are considered separate from Star Trek exhibitions which only (passively) display items and related materials stemming from the live-action franchise such as rarely-seen props and behind-the-scenes information, though these have increasingly incorporated interactive components as well. Nevertheless, in some instances the distinction has become somewhat blurred as some attractions also feature exhibits and vice-versa, such as Star Trek: Orion Rendezvous and Star Trek: The Experience .

Universal Studios organized and produced one of the very first official Star Trek attractions, the two Star Trek Adventure live-performance attraction variants, housed on its theme parks in Los Angeles, California and Orlando, Florida. [1]

List of attractions [ ]

Star Trek Adventure ( 1988 / 1994 - 1991 / 1996 )
Star Trek: Orion Rendezvous ( 1992 - 2003 )
Klingon Encounter
Borg Invasion 4D
Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director's Edition home video Premiere Events ( 2001 & 2022 )
Borg Assimilator ( 2004 - 2008 )
Star Trek Live ( 2009 )
Star Trek Designers Talk Trek History At Art Directors Guild Event ( 2009 )
TNG Blu-ray theatrical events ( 2012 - 2013 )
Star Trek: Live in Concert ( 2014 - 2015 )
Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage ( 2015 - 2016 )
Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience ( 2016 )
Star Trek: Operation Enterprise ( 2017 -)

External link [ ]

Looking Back at Closed Star Trek Attractions at ThemedReality.com
2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

'Star Trek' theme park: Hop on the Warp Speed Coaster

Enterprising fans may want to teleport to Spain for Paramount Park Murcia, which will include not only a "Star Trek" theme park, but condos, hotels, and a casino. It's scheduled to debut in 2015.

Fans disappointed that the "Star Trek"-themed section of a Las Vegas hotel closed can now set their sights on a new tribute to Gene Roddenberry's galaxy of space exploration and adventure.

"'Star Trek' will be represented in force at Paramount Park Murcia, to be located at Alhama de Murcia on the Mediterranean coast about 270 miles southeast of Madrid," according to StarTrek.com . "The wide-ranging project will incorporate condos and office buildings, hotels, malls, a casino, a convention center, gardens, nightlife, and dining areas, an exhibition hall/auditorium and a theme park divided into several sections.