Now You Can Go On Board The TARDIS

The TARDIS is flinging open its doors, as the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff Bay – the spiritual home of Doctor Who – is giving you the opportunity to visit the actual, honest-to-God TARDIS set at the nearby Roath Lock Studios.

SFX was lucky enough to be invited to a press preview day, and we can tell you that, along with The Great Hall at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter Studio Tour, this is one of the most impressive sets you’re likely to see. Unlike the Great Hall, however, it possibly looks bigger in real life than it does on TV. Kinda apt.

The best thing about the TARDIS set is that it’s totally enclosed, so once you’re in it, it truly is like being on board. There’s no imaginary fourth wall – it’s like being inside a giant sci-fi globe. And you’re not only allowed to walk around the console, you get to walk downstairs and peer underneath as well.

Visits begin from the Doctor Who Experience foyer and it is advisable to book in advance of a visit. More information on tickets can be found here: http://doctorwhoexperience.com/tickets-and-prices.php .

Prices start from £20.50 for adults and £14.50 for children, which includes general admission to the Doctor Who Experience and the TARDIS studio set tour, or £25.50/£14.40 respectively to include a walking tour of filming locations around Cardiff Bay.

The tour’s great fun, by the way. When we tell you it’s barely an hour long and covers about a mile, you’ll wonder how much it can pack in. An astonishing amount is the answer. It’s genuinely fascinating how one building shot from different angles can double up as so many different locations. You truly won’t believe how a pub was turned into Captain Jack’s alien home Torchwood . And we assumed it was all CGI.

These official studio tours are available to book now until 25 August.

Photography is permitted while on the Official TARDIS Studio Tours. And as you can see, we took full advantage. It’s difficult not to!

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Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.