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My Star Trek Experience |
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Sept. 5-10, 2001 |
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Written by Denise Felt
Copyright 2001 |
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Enjoying the palm trees in front of the Alexis Park Hotel. |
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When my family and I flew into Las Vegas, Nevada, Wednesday evening, September 5, 2001, for the 35th Anniversary of Star Trek Convention, we felt as though we had stepped out into another world. We were awed and amazed by everything our eyes saw, and that was before we got to the Convention! Las Vegas' palm trees seemed extremely foreign to our Midwestern eyes, as did the imposing neon-lit green of the enormous MGM Grand Hotel. Thankfully, we were not staying there, but at a smaller hotel nearby that wasn't so . . . flashy. We checked into our hotel, then ventured out to the Alexis Park Hotel a mile away, where we could preregister for the Convention and save ourselves a long line the next day.
The Athena Ballroom was sparsely populated when we arrived, but then, it was just after 9pm, and Preregistration closed in an hour. We received our vouchers for the shows, our necktags to wear to let the staff and security know that we had a right to be at the Convention, and free tickets to the Las Vegas Hilton's "Star Trek: The Experience" attraction. This last was a nice bonus, since we had planned on taking a free moment over the weekend to go there anyway. We also chose our pre-signed autographed photos of those few stars who did not do in-person autographs for the masses. It was a leisurely evening, giving us no hint of the coming insanity of the next few days. |
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Resistance is futile! James has been assimilated. |
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As a sample day, I will endeavor to describe as accurately as possible what Saturday was like. By this time, we had two days of the Convention behind us, and we knew which lines to get in, which ones to avoid, and which ballroom we were supposed to report to. We were pros. We arrived at the Alexis Park Hotel to find the General Admission lines out the door, but that was nothing new, since they'd been out the door for the past two days. But this time, we didn't make the mistake of getting in line. When we entered the hotel, we could see that one of the long lines was for the Athena Ballroom, the small ballroom where we had registered Wednesday night. We avoided that room as much as possible, only venturing in near closing time or lunchtime, when the lines cleared out. At all other times, the room was completely packed (far past any fire code allowances) with fans trying to get autographs from the visiting stars. |
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Schmoozing with Gary Lockwood while my son, James, gets chummy with Garrett Wang. |
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Page 2 |
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