Running Into Doctor Who in Balboa Park

This day was really fun.

The original plan was just to visit the San Diego Museum of Art. The sky was a little gray, the ground was still wet, and everything felt quiet. Then while passing the Comic-Con Museum, there was a glimpse of some very familiar blue boxes, with Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder across them.

There had been absolutely no idea this exhibition was here. It was not the reason for the trip, and it was not something checked in advance either. It just appeared out of nowhere while walking by.

The Doctor Who banner outside Comic-Con Museum

Getting closer, it turned out to be real.

Exhibition flyer

Tickets were about $30 for adults and$20 for students. At the time, signing up on the official site also got a $15 discounted ticket.

That Blue Door#

The entrance itself was simple, but once that blue door showed up, the whole place already felt very Doctor Who.

Exhibition entrance

The first thing there was the costume wall.

Modern Doctor costumes

Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen. For anyone who has been following the show for years, it still feels special. Twelve especially brought back 2014, when Doctor Who first became a real part of everyday life.

Props#

Further in were the console and the sonic screwdrivers¹. Even got to touch the console once.

TARDIS console

sonic screwdrivers

In the nearby case were some smaller props that do not show up as often, including Twelve’s sonic shades² and the little device used in the 2013 50th Anniversary Special³.

Small props

There was also Handles⁴⁵, the old Cyberman head that stayed with Eleven to the very end.

Handles

After the outfit area, the first thing to see was a row of three spacesuits. The one on the left is River Song’s Apollo-style suit from the S06 story arc⁶. The middle one is from S04E08-S04E09⁷⁸, and it immediately brings back Hey, who turned out the lights?. The orange one on the right is that classic Doctor Who spacesuit that appears again and again, including Clara’s in S08E07 Kill the Moon⁹.

Three spacesuits

The Weeping Angel on the left is from S03E10¹⁰, and the fluffy Meep on the right is from the 2023 60th anniversary Special 1¹¹.

Weeping Angel and The Meep

Then came the villain lineup: Daleks¹², Cybermen¹³, and Sontarans¹⁴.

Dalek

Cybermen

Sontaran

Up close, the Dalek eyestalk still feels a little intimidating.

Dalek eyestalk

It was the first time seeing the words on the TARDIS door from this close.

Text on the TARDIS door

There was also the Teller from S08E05 Time Heist¹⁵, or Brain Soup.

The Teller

Face of Boe / Captain Jack Harkness¹⁶¹⁷. Torchwood is pretty good too¹⁸.

Face of Boe

Nearby was the cat nun from S02E01¹⁹.

Sisters of Plenitude

Silence will fall!²⁰

Silence

Whiteboard and screening area#

Left a quick message on the whiteboard.

Message on the whiteboard

There was also a screening area nearby. When this visit happened, it was introducing the 2023 60th anniversary Special 1¹¹.

Screening area

This timeline wall runs from 1963 to now. Doctor Who has already been going for a very, very long time.

Doctor timeline

Gift shop#

T-shirts, tote bags, Dalek-pattern bags, and so on.

Gift shop

Doctor Who novels, comics, and spin-offs.

Novels and comics

After leaving#

It still was not dark in Balboa Park when leaving the exhibition. The ground was still wet, and the light was slowly starting to come back.

One last look on the way out

Balboa Park after the rain

Later there was also a walk through the Japanese garden nearby. Daleks and Cybermen first, then water and stones.

Japanese garden

Wooden structure in the garden

At the end, there was a sunset after the rain.

Light after the rain

The last sunset

The best part was this kind of completely unplanned surprise.