I’ve been to the Dr Who Experience once before but since then it has moved to a bigger space and the show has got even bigger. Also I was visiting on 23rd November, the day of the 50th anniversary so I had assumed that it would put on a bit of a show.
It was certainly busy with many having chosen to come in costume – most adults I should add and without even a passing resemblance to the character they were trying to emulate. A multi-coloured scarf does not make you Tom Baker.
The “experience” is made up of two parts. The first is an interactive guided tour where you and the other visitors need to help the 11th Doctor to escape from another Pandorica. This was fun even if it was exactly the same as last time and the references to the episodes now a bit dated.
The other half is a static display now covering two floors including costumes of both the Doctors and his enemies, a few consoles from TARDIS’ and other materials showing how the series is made.
If I am honest this part was a little disappointing. It was certainly soulless after the first half interaction but it just felt a bit lost and was spread out over what felt like a hanger. I’m not sure how this could be improved but the fact that it was so empty spoke volumes given the number of people waiting to get in and in the shop.
The other slightly odd thing was that there was no reference to the 50th anniversary that I could see anywhere. No posters advertising the programme that evening, no special guests and no celebratory merchandising, which given what you can buy I found amazing. I think that they were missing a trick.
So an enjoyable afternoon but I was just left feeling that it needed more excitement.