Unless you don’t watch TV or walk down the toy aisle, you have most likely heard of PAW Patrol. Even if you haven’t, your kids definitely have. And once you have heard it, there’s no getting rid of it out of your head. PAW Patrol, Go, Go, Go, Go! Here’s our review of the PAW Patrol Live, The Great Pirate Adventure show.

Date Visited: Saturday, 8th September 2018

Location:  Brighton Centre, Kings Rd, Brighton BN1 2GR – Other dates and locations were available and may differ if it returns for another year in 2019. 

Getting There: Train from London Bridge to Brighton. Unfortunately on the weekend we visited, there was track work so our train terminated at Three Bridges and a rail replacement bus drove the remaining 35 minutes to Brighton. Not ideal. 

Cost: Wallet lightener. At £35 per ticket, plus admin fees, train tickets to Brighton, lunch and a souvenir toy, it ended up being a slightly over £200 day out. Not sure how larger families do it.  

Review: 

PAW Patrol Live – The Great Pirate Adventure is loosely based on the cartoon episode ‘Pups and the Pirate Treasure’. A brief synopsis:

  • Captain Turbot falls down a cave
  • Pups go to the rescue
  • Pups find a pirate treasure map and go hunting for the treasure before Mayor Humdinger finds it
  • Won’t spoil the ending for you…

Although the cartoon episode is only 24 minutes, the live performance is stretched to 90 minutes, including a 15 minute interval. This is due to a number of songs and interactive, audience participation acts, similar to a pantomime. The production is smoothly operated and the Brighton venue was more than spacious, Cara had no trouble seeing the stage. 

The main attraction was seeing the pups walk onto the stage. After a 10 minute warm-up from Captain Turbot, the pups are introduced on stage one-by-one. As expected, this brings the biggest cheer. It’s a great effort from the actors playing the pups, as the costumes look quite heavy to dance around it. After ascending to the lookout, Chase and Rubble are chosen to rescue the Captain. A quick scene change, and out come Chase and Rubble in their vehicles. More cheers. 

Without going into too much detail and spoiling the story-line, there’s enough interaction, visual entertainment and songs to keep Cara occupied for 90 minutes. She wasn’t bored or distracted during the performance. I had booked the tickets for PAW Patrol Live back in April when it was at the peak of Cara’s interest. However, between then and now, her interest has slightly waned although she still plays with her PAW Patrol toys occasionally. 

Personally, my preference would be to watch a performance about a book, like The Gruffalo or The Singing Mermaid. Nevertheless, it was a good day out and something different. Most importantly, Cara enjoyed it and only napped during the 35 minute bus ride back to Three Bridges.

Note: After the performance, there is an opportunity to have a photo with a pup, unsure what the cost was. We decided against it and sneaked around to the exit before Cara could notice.

Tips
  1. If travelling by train, triple-check for any planned track work. Might be easier to drive if the trains are out of action.
  2. Visit a Smyths Toy store beforehand and you may find a greater variety (and more affordable) selection of PAW Patrol themed toys.
  3. Depending on the venue, the snacks and concessions may not be the best, so pack some snacks before going in. Bear in mind they do inspect bags prior to entering.

More details: 

PAW Patrol Live! – https://www.pawpatrollive.co.uk/ 

Ratings:

Burn Time: 3 out of 5 – Decent run time at approximately 90 minutes, including a 15 minute intermission. Spent lunchtime in Brighton, but due to the 2 hour journey each way, felt like an extremely long day.
Value: 1.5 out of 5 – Not the cheapest day out once you include the travel, time spent travelling, lunch and toys. 
Overall: 3 out of 5 – It’s a once in a lifetime event for us, as it’s probably not something we will watch again. But it’s always good to attend something different to expose Cara to performances that she can relate to. 

PAW Patrol Live Brighton Centre ABCDad

Who is your favourite pup or character? Leave your comments below.