The Who Shop - Upton Park — Attraction in London

I'm a pretty big Doctor Who fan, but this shop kind of disappointed. I'm not an avid fan who knows a ton about everything, but I do love the show and have rewatched it several times and even have some of my own memorabilia. This shop is small and has a bunch of random things in the tight space, but there are signs all over the place saying "Please do not touch," or something similar with instructions to have a manager or staff member assist you. I respect their request, but the things they had with those signs weren't terribly valuable or delicate items (think T-Shirts, DVDs, hats, etc.). It felt controlling/restrictive. People who are able to read are old enough to have learned respect in stores, and those who can't read are too young to understand anyway.

Also, the first impression when walking in wasn't a very great one. Instead of being greeted and welcomed to the store, we were immediately reprimanded. Right as you walk in, there are two massive dalek displays and a TARDIS close by. My friend is a photographer and had been so excited to be in the store, as he is an avid fan. He immediately held a camera up to take a photo, but before he could even blink, an employee raised their voice at us telling him not to take photos without permission. To be fair, there were signs at the base of the daleks to not take photos without asking management, which I had been reading simultaneously to him raising his camera. The employees didn't even give us a second to read the sign, but they also weren't very courteous with my friend. While we were in the store, other patrons did come up and ask to take photos, and they were always told yes, of course. If you're going to say yes to taking photos anyway, why stop a fan in their excitement to tell them they need to ask first?

Again, I respect the store's decision to protect their items, but it wasn't a great fan experience. Overall, it was really not worth it to travel 40 minutes outside of London to visit the store. I wouldn't recommend unless you have nothing better to do. Some comic places have better Doctor Who things that I would've enjoyed more. Although, they do have all the DVDs and some CDs and such, so that's cool at least. But also something I could've bought online.

One bonus for going, though, is there are lots of signed photographs and posters from both the original and the new series, so if you're into seeing those, they have a ton (oddly enough, none of those have any signs about not...

This place is a blast and the owners/workers could not be better ambassadors for Doctor Who or any other sci-fi show you're into. A negative review on here said they are nerds and that's true, as are many of the customers (us included). We had an incredibly memorable time speaking with staff and other customers alike, and even learned about a Star Trek Desilu set recreation a few hours north of us in NY over in the States. Travel to London to learn about stuff in your own backyard, you can't make it up.

Anyway, ignore the pittance of negative reviews here (those people had to have been awful patrons), call ahead to book your museum slot and make sure things are open (the museum has limited hours), bring £5 pp for the museum tour, and ask lots of questions (including before you take a picture so that they can guide and assist you with the props). Kevan started our tour in the museum and was absolutely delightful to converse with (not just about Dr Who, which is good because I am thoroughly enjoying it but don't know a lot) even though he was in the mend from something that prevented him attending a recent convention. We were then turned over to another staff guide (Kevan apologized profusely because he had to take a meeting but in reality it was our fault because we were chewing his ear off), who was at least as friendly as Kevan. My wife actually has his card because we told him if he's ever in NY to look us up.

Just a bunch of delightful people, incredibly knowledgeable about all sci-fi, and appreciative of anyone with an interest. I ended up talking about Star Trek and Firefly at least as much as Dr Who with our tour experts.

Prices aren't bad in the shop considering you're at a collectibles store near a major city, NY prices are worse and if you're at a specialty shop the prices are usually ridiculous. The only reason I didn't buy anything is because we don't trust TSA not to break it when we fly home. =/

Thanks to all the wonderful staff and hopefully Alex had a great convention trip! We squeezed this in right before flying back and it was a major highlight of our...

I had had this store in mind for months to visit on my next visit to the UK from Barcelona. About 2 weeks ago, I expressly traveled by tube from the center of London to the remote neighborhood where I was.

Upon entering I saw 2 daleks, I focused on the first one with a do not touch sign. Of course, I'm respectful and I did not touch, but I focused on taking a picture. At that moment the owner appeared with a bad face telling me rudely that I couldn't take photos, pointing to a sign on the other dalek. The sign was on the dalek that I hadn't gotten a good look at yet. How did she expect me to guess that I couldn't take pictures if I hadn't gotten a good look at that dalek yet?

I understand that it was my mistake, but the way she told me about it should have been more kind. By blocking me when I went to answer, I think she already noticed that I was a tourist and felt sorry for me :)

I can get by in English but I'm not fluent in it. As I continued to look around the shop, I could hear the owner speaking in the background with a quick British accent. I assumed that she would talk on the phone or with someone who came in.

But after a while I thought that maybe she was talking to me and she said yes, I told her that I don't understand much.... She smiled kinder and it seems that she got it.

But... If she already noticed that I was a tourist when telling me about the photo, why did she keep talking to me quickly in English and without looking at me, if she saw that I didn't understand her well?

Anyway, I felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave the store quickly, of course without buying anything. The store is fine! It has many things, although a bit expensive as is normal in these places.

She offended me a bit, because I'm 37 years old, I'm very respectful, and I felt like I was treated like a rude teenager. I don't think there is bad faith or she have anything against Catalonian visitors, but they should pay more attention to how they treat people.

Besides, I just read that there is a museum inside and I didn't see it... They didn't even invite me...