Each episode is based around a series of cyclical events that occur along the way during Dora's travels, along with obstacles that she and Boots are forced to overcome or puzzles that they have to solve (with "assistance" from the viewing audience) relating to riddles, the Spanish language, or counting.

Common rituals may involve Dora's encounters with Swiper, a bipedal, anthropomorphic masked thieving fox whose theft of the possessions of others must be prevented through interaction with the viewer.

However, on occasions where Swiper steals the belongings of other people, the viewer is presented with the challenge of helping Boots and Dora locate the stolen items.

Another obstacle involves encounters with another one of the program's antagonists; the "Grumpy Old Troll" dwelling beneath a bridge that Dora and Boots must cross, who challenges them with a riddle that needs to be solved with the viewer's help before permitting them to pass.

[6] Development of the series came out of Nickelodeon's desire to "come up with the next big hit" similar to its other successful preschool shows at the time, Little Bear and Blue's Clues.

[9] Initially the character was not planned to be Latina although after an executive at Nickelodeon attended a conference about the lack of Latino representation, the creators were asked if they could include such elements.

They might be presented with an unusual, difficult task (such as assisting Swiper in his attempts to be erased from Santa Claus's Naughty List) that normally is not featured in average episodes, or challenge Dora with a goal that must be achieved (such as the emancipation of a trapped mermaid).

On March 8, 2009, Mattel and Nickelodeon announced that Dora will receive a tweenage makeover, switching from a young age to a teenage attending middle school.

and would star Dora as a 10-year-old who goes on city adventures with the Explorer Girls (a group introduced in 2009 consisting of Naiya, Kate, Emma, and Alana)[22] and is accompanied by a male friend named Pablo.

It was filmed in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia at Village Roadshow Studios and directed by James Bobin[31] from a screenplay by Nicholas Stoller and Kristin Burr as producer.