World of Paw Patrol lands at Chessington - and it's a proper game-changer for under-8s

Chessington has done something genuinely exciting this season - and for once it isn't aimed at the white-knuckle crowd. World of Paw Patrol is a fully themed, ground-up new land replacing the old Mexicana area, and on a preview walk-through it feels like the most committed bit of theming the Surrey park has built in over a decade.

If you have a child between roughly 2 and 8, this is the headline UK opening of the year.

What's actually in there

The land centres on a working replica of the Lookout Tower, the show's signature HQ, complete with that iconic spinning periscope on top. Walk underneath it and you're into Adventure Bay, with three new rides built around the pups:

• Marshall's Fire Rescue - a family-sized spinner where you crew Marshall's fire truck and put out animatronic "fires" along the track. Think Cars-style ride track, scaled down.
• Skye's High Flying Flight School - a gentle aerial carousel that gives toddlers their first taste of leaving the ground. Parents can ride alongside, which is the bit that matters.
• Chase's Spy Drone Adventure - a junior coaster (Chessington haven''t confirmed final stats, but it''s clearly aimed squarely at the 0.9–1.2m crowd that previously aged out of Gruffalo too quickly).

Around the rides there's a proper Adventure Bay play town - climbable pup houses, splash zones, a mini Paw Patroller vehicle to clamber over, and a meet-and-greet trail where Chase, Marshall, Skye and Rubble all rotate through the day.

Why this matters for UK families

Chessington has spent years being the "first big park" for British kids - the natural step up from Peppa Pig World once a four-year-old has done it for the fifteenth time. But the Mexicana corner had been tired since around 2015, and the park's last few investments (Mandrill Mayhem, Croc Drop) skewed older.

World of Paw Patrol fills the obvious gap: a destination land for the 3–7 bracket that justifies a full day on its own. With the Azteca Hotel a 10-minute walk away, it also makes a one-night stay genuinely viable for families with very young kids - something Legoland Windsor has owned uncontested for too long.

Practical tips before you go

• Be prepared for queues The first month will be heaving - Paw Patrol is the biggest pre-school IP since Peppa, and Chessington knows it.
• Book a hotel stay for early ride access if your child is the type who melts down in queues. The Azteca and Safari hotels both include it.
• Bring spare clothes. The splash zones in Adventure Bay are not subtle.
• Don't skip the rest of the park. Gruffalo River Ride Adventure and the Sea Life centre still pair beautifully with a Paw Patrol-led day.

We'll have a full ride-by-ride review and queue strategy guide shortly. For now: if you've got a Paw Patrol obsessive at home, start the planning your next trip to Chessington!

For more on planning a UK family trip, see our best UK theme parks for under-8s guide and our current Chessington offers.