Doctor Who Experience, Cardiff

Finally, after many years, the Whovian within me was unleashed in Cardiff. Though the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff Bay was opened back in 2012, I only got round to visiting earlier this week. So, finally after a long train journey, and after navigating Cardiff itself, journeying past the BBC Roath Lock Studios and some memorable locations from Torchwood's history, my Doctor Who pilgrimage had commenced.

And by and large, as any fellow Whovians among you may expect, it was pretty epic.
There is no denying it: the sheer scale, detail and scope of the amassed Doctor Who artefacts, props, sets, costumes and virtually anything else you can think of is mind-boggling.
The history of Who is well and truly celebrated, and rightly so, but there are conscious efforts being made to also be as up to date and as modern as possible, and the resulting blend of Who past and lore with Who present and now is quite pleasing for the most part.
To see working TARDIS consoles, to see the array of sonics, to see a 50 year history of the Doctor;s dress sense...even if as fans you already know this and aren't immediately hit by anything you didn't know already; to see it all presented thus is quite something.
Yes the preliminary "adventure" before the exhibit could be a lot better. Whilst it has the added plus of a story featuring the Twelfth Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi it also has the downside of being run by a well-meaning, passionate yet ultimately patronising member of staff. Plus the fact that you end up being herded around like cattle and directed like toddlers.
However the exhibition of the Doctor Who Experience itself, and what it features and is comprised of is certainly pretty close to Whovian heaven.

No, my major issue isn't really with what is in the Doctor Who Experience; it is how it is run. I reference again the aforementioned cattle-herding - the staff were literally jamming as many people into the queues as possible, quite clearly not out of duty to the customers, but to maximise their daily footfall and hence profit. And apart from the fact that the staff can't order a taxi to save their life (seriously, when its time for you to go just do it yourself) the way in which the Experience seems to view the Doctor Who faithful reeks all too much of indifferent capitalism to me. The extortionate entry fees, the rushed nature in which they try and shepherd you round the place, the interesting but again woefully expensive souvenir shop, even the way they market themselves (online and in person)... to me as a long time fan it just seems a shame that those who run the Experience, and the staff they employ on the ground seem less interested with the Doctor Who legacy and fans, and more concerned with making a profit,

However it is Catch 22- the world knows how popular Who is, and there is nothing stopping people from across the globe flocking to Cardiff to revel in and appreciate this temple to all things time and space. And despite my qualms, I still count myself among them; I do not regret at all going and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in how great long lasting telly is made, and I would all out insist that any Whovian go. And that really is the point isn't it - getting to appreciate the adventures of the mad man in a blue box.