The Doctor Who Experience is a fun, interactive museum that gives fans the opportunity to participate in an adventure with the Doctor and stroll through the series sets, costumes, and props.  With several Whovians in the family, we made a stop in Cardiff, Wales, largely to visit the Doctor Who Experience.


 We arrived a few minutes early and spotted a Tardis on the waterfront. The dock was closed so we couldn't go down and get closer, but excitement was rising!


 Once the doors opened, we had about 30 minutes to explore the lobby.

Daleks - the red one is made of lego blocks

Quick pose with the Tardis

Don't Blink! - Weeping Angel

Smiler from "The Beast Below"

 We used the time to take pictures, make some pressed coins, check out the menu at the Blue Box Cafe, and geek out a bit at all the cool stuff.

When our timed entry came up, we were escorted to an area to wait for our tour guide through the Time Lord Museum.

Hypercubes - "The Doctor's Wife"

We met our Time Lord Museum curator and were asked not to take photographs through the museum.  This was the interactive part where we were given a time crystal and had to help the Doctor save time from some spidery-looking things.  In order to help, we had to go to various places/times and collect power crystals.  We were in the heart of the Tardis (I soooo wanted to take pictures of this!!), on Skaro, in the garden with Weeping Angels, and in the junkyard.  Our guide spoke with the 12th Doctor as he guided us through our mission to get the crystals.  The whole thing was a little too much for Ebabe, and Chip had to escort her out during the last few minutes. It was intense, but cool.  The person behind us in the waiting line mentioned that they change the storyline every so often to keep it fresh for those who return to visit again.

Once the interactive portion was over, we were led to an exhibition gallery where we could explore at our own pace.  Below are a lot of pictures from our visit.  There is so much more to see, but we'll save something for those of you who are hoping to visit!

Original Tardis control

Photos of original series production and notes

Tardis Paint and scripts

K-9 from 4th Doctor and Tardis

Fifth Doctor's Tardis Console - Season 21, Original Series

10th Doctor's Tardis

Face of Boe

Cybermen

Ood

The Mummy - "Mummy on the Orient Express"

From Season 9, "The Girl That Died"

From "Day of the Doctor"

Memorial to Clara, "Face the Raven"

Osgood Box, Zygon Invasion/Zygon Inversion

Dalek

And there were a plethora of original costumes...

1st Doctor

2nd Doctor

3rd Doctor

4th Doctor

5th Doctor

6th Doctor

7th Doctor

8th Doctor

War Doctor

9th Doctor

10th Doctor

11th Doctor

12th Doctor

Martha, Captain Jack, and Rose Costumes

Donna Noble Costume

River's Costumes from "The Husbands of River Song"

Rory and Amy Pond Costumes

Oswin and Clara's Costumes

Time Lord Confession Dial

Davros

All said, we had a blast visiting.  It was fun to step into our favorite scenes and surround ourselves with show memorabilia.

Well, I guess we have a 1st night ritual of not sleeping.  Last night I was awakened at 3:30am by the sound of dripping water.  Since we had our clothes hanging to dry, my first thought was that they were dripping (yes, I was still not fully awake).  I got up to see and realized that it was the air conditioner, which was positioned above the door, that was dripping down onto the floor.  Since we needed the a/c running in order to pull the moisture out of the air and help dry the clothes, I stuck the trash can under the drip, started my relaxing noises phone app, and drifted back off to sleep. This morning there was probably 1/2 gallon of water in the trash can!  We let the front desk know, but they said it was nothing to worry about, so we left it on while we went out to try to get everything dry before we leave tomorrow.

Today was a busy day!  We started off walking back to Mermaid Quay and then along the waterfront to get to the Doctor Who Experience.

Here are a few pictures from our experience.

Excited to see all the Doctor Who Stuff

Hoping the Dalek's can't see her

A little cosplay in the Tardis

Just hanging out inside the Tardis.  What did you do today?

In the control room of 10th Doctor's Tardis

There was so much to see that I made another post solely devoted to our visit.  You can read more about our time at the DWE in a different post.

After our time in the Experience, we split up.  Chip and the younger two went back to Mermaid Quay, had some lunch and ride the merry-go-round.



Meanwhile, the oldest and I hiked across the Cardiff Bay Barrage....

...and up the hill to visit St. Augustine's Church in Penarth.




We knew this was a filming spot for Doctor Who, but I thought it was the location of Donna's wedding.  It was not.  The interior and stained glass windows were featured in an episode.


Either way, it was a nice hike over and a gorgeous view, both in the churchyard with the cemetery


or looking back down toward Cardiff Bay, where we were staying.



After our hike back, we met up with Chip and the girls on the Wharf, had a quick bite to eat and hopped on the Aquabus for scenic transport to Bute Park, near Cardiff Castle.

The green area is the barrage and that tall building is St Augustine's Church, where we hiked earlier

There were swans everywhere in Cardiff Bay.  We probably saw upwards of 100 during our short boat ride.


The boat ride was a great rest for our feet, after miles of walking and we enjoyed the views and downtime.



We weren't sure which direction to go at first and wandered over to a gate to the castle in the park which was no longer in use.


We wandered around and found the main entrance.


From the Cardiff Castle website, here's a little bit of historical background. For further historical background, please visit the Cardiff Castle page.

"The Roman fort at Cardiff was probably established at the end of the 50s AD, on a strategic site that afforded easy access to the sea. Archaeological excavations made during the 1970s indicate that this was only the first of four forts, each a different size, that occupied the present site... After the Norman conquest, the Castle’s keep was built, re-using the site of the Roman fort."

"The site was divided into inner and outer wards, separated by a huge stone wall. The first keep on the motte was erected by Robert Fitzhamon, the Norman Lord of Gloucester, and along with many of these early defenses was probably built of wood."

"More medieval fortifications and dwellings followed."

The black tower (part of Sherlock has been filmed here)

"The Castle passed through the hands of many noble families until in 1766, it passed by marriage to the Bute family. The 2^nd Marquess of Bute was responsible for turning Cardiff into the world’s greatest coal exporting port. The Castle and Bute fortune passed to his son John, the 3^rd Marquess of Bute, who by the 1860s was reputed to be the richest man in the world.

From 1866, the 3rd Marquess employed the genius architect William Burges to transform the Castle lodgings. Within gothic towers he created lavish and opulent interiors, rich with murals, stained glass, marble, gilding and elaborate wood carvings."

Ceiling of the smoking room - theme of room is time

Nursery walls are hand painted tiles of famous fairy tales

Ceiling of great hall contains Royal genealogy with names and crests

Great Hall fireplace mantle

"Each breathtaking room has its own special theme, including Mediterranean gardens and Italian and Arabian decoration."

Ceiling of Arab Room

Marble Walls of Arab Room

Wall and Stained Glass Window of Arab Room

Marble Floor of Arab Room

"The 3^rd Marquess died when he was only 53 in 1900. He had transformed the Castle into a Welsh Victorian Camelot – now regarded as being of international significance. Despite huge death duties on the estate, the 4^th Marquess completed many of his father’s restoration projects including the reconstruction of the Roman wall. The Bute family continued to stay at the Castle throughout the 1920s and 1930s, although they had sold off many of their business interests in South Wales. Following the death of the 4^th Marquess of Bute, the family decided to give the Castle and much of its parkland, known as Bute Park, to the city of Cardiff."

Garden at the top of the tower

Our tour guide at the top of the tower

View of adjacent tower from tower garden

Jeweled ceiling of dining room

Stained Glass in Library

Library

Detailing of inlay birds on the bookshelves

Elaborate carving for room dividers

Clock Tower

 After our tour, we began our walk back to the hotel.  We stopped to grab a bite to eat, but the restaurant we chose was closed for the day (for cleaning).  The owner popped out and gave us directions to another place a few blocks away that he highly recommended. He was absolutely correct.  The food was delicious and inexpensive and the atmosphere was perfect and quiet.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but the name of the place was Pillars.


We enjoyed the walk back to the hotel and spent some time at the water front, just outside.  Now we are back and enjoying a little dessert: tea and some delicious Jammie Dodgers!



Since all the clothing was not fully dry, Chip used the hairdryer to further the drying process on a few items.  Now we are all tucked in and ready for our travel day tomorrow.