Doctor Who Experience Updates
The BBC have announced more details on The Doctor Who Experience – the upcoming exhibition that lets fans step inside the TARDIS.
BBC Worldwide is to launch its first ever shop devoted to Doctor Who at the much anticipated Doctor Who Experience. The shop will be a treasure trove for fans showcasing Doctor Who toys, games, books and licensed merchandise. The shop will open on 20th February in tandem with the Doctor Who Experience and remain open throughout its run.
The Doctor Who Experience will be further supported by a Wi Fi service exclusive to Olympia. Provided by Brandnew, the ‘closed loop’ mobile Wi Fi platform is dual purpose – while receiving redeemable coupons for use in the Doctor Who shop, visitors can also use smartphones to enjoy an immersive browsing experience related to the aliens, monsters and storylines at the show.
The Wi Fi service has an easy login interface and one click access to content. From a special offers area, users download promotional barcodes which are then swiped at the checkout reader in the usual way, with price reductions shown at the till and on receipts. The wireless service is security encrypted and much faster than any 3G network. Much of the material for download is exclusive to the Doctor Who Experience with a wealth of facts, figures and information. A special subtitling service can be accessed for the deaf, ensuring the Experience – led by the Doctor’s own vocal commands – is just as meaningful.
The shop will retail over 400 Doctor Who SKU’s at any one time, with many items exclusive to Olympia – a showcase of licensed product larger than anything available on the high street in one place. The Doctor Who shop is a stand-alone outlet adjacent to the café, though most visitors will enter after enjoying the Experience and Exhibition. The 133 square metres has a circular layout to encourage easy and full navigation of the merchandise. The tills and checkout area at the centre mimic the central console of the TARDIS.
The Doctor Who Experience promises to be a spectacular event, featuring an exhilarating walk-through adventure, where visitors can step into a full recreation of the Eleventh Doctor’s TARDIS, and an ‘out of this world’ exhibition featuring iconic Doctor Who props and costumes from its 47 year history. This is the first ever fully immersive Doctor Who attraction – an unprecedented opportunity for fans to step through a crack in time and take part in their own Doctor Who adventure in the role of the Doctor’s companion. Their challenge will be to reunite the Doctor with the TARDIS whilst facing some of the best-loved and most-feared monsters from the hit series, including a Dalek spaceship and Weeping Angels.
The Doctor Who Experience runs at London’s Olympia 2 from 20 February 2011.
