The Bucks County Children's Museum - Advance Ticketing Recommended — Attraction in New Hope

Disappointed Experience – Needs Better Communication

I was really looking forward to our visit today, but unfortunately, our experience was pretty disappointing.

We drove nearly 1,5h to visit the museum with our kids, and the biggest issue we ran into was parking. We parked on a side of the street where there were no visible signs indicating it was paid parking. The only sign was buried deep inside overgrown bushes—completely obscured unless you’re looking straight at it, which we weren’t (therefore pics). We ended up with a parking ticket, which was frustrating.

When we entered, I let the front desk staff know it had been a while since our last visit and asked if there was anything we needed to know. While she pointed out a few things inside the museum, she didn’t mention anything about paid parking. I later saw there’s a small sign at the register about parking, but it’s easy to miss, especially when you’re checking in with 3 kids.

Adding to the confusion, Google says the museum closes at 3 PM, but the door sign says 4 PM. Then, at 3 PM, staff announced that the restrooms were closed (not even 10min warning). Closing the bathrooms an hour before the facility closes—especially at a children’s museum—is honestly baffling. For families with toddlers or kids in potty training, that’s a big inconvenience.

When I asked about the parking ticket at the front desk, I was told that it’s mentioned online when buying tickets—which I didn’t do, since I bought ours in person. Again, this points to a larger issue: lack of clear, consistent communication.

I understand that I could have been more observant, and I’m not blaming everything on the museum, but a little better signage and clearer staff communication would have gone a long way. It felt like the burden was entirely on us to figure everything out, even after specifically asking for guidance.

Really disappointed with the visit overall. I hope the museum takes this as constructive feedback and improves the experience for other families...

Disgraceful. My wife and I drove 40 minutes with our 19 month old son to check out the museum. We were greeted by two girls at the front desk, one who was young and the other a bit older. The younger girl asked us if we had a reservation, which we did not. She asked us if we were members of a library, which we were not. We were then told we were not allowed in due to fire code and the museum being fully booked.

Disappointed, we stood outside for awhile and watched 30-40+ people leave the museum and ZERO enter the museum. My wife signed up for a membership at the library she attends and we went back in to talk to the girls. We showed our membership to the girls and we were told we need to have a ticket from the library. I then asked about memberships to the museum, and I was showed the pricing for memberships ($90 for 4 people). Before I could make a decision, the older girl chimed in rudely to tell me that I could buy a membership but I was not going to be allowed in today.

It is extremely unfortunate to have rude people working at a Children's Museum. Are these not built to entertain and educate children? Imagine denying a 19 month old kid from going into a museum because his parents did not have a reservation. I truly can understand the safety protocols of having a limit on guests, but when it is 2pm and 30+ guests have left the establishment and nobody has entered, that is just an embarrassing excuse. My wife then cried on our drive home as she just wanted to do something fun with our son and was unable to thanks to the incompetent, rude staff.

The website says "Advance Ticketing Recommended". If you are not willing to let people in without a reservation, then maybe change that to "Reservation Required". If you are going to stick with your policy of just "recommending", then maybe hire somebody competent at the front desk who can decide when it is safe to allow a...

This was my second time visiting. My overall experience at this place has been pleasant. The place isn't super big so you won't lose track of your kids (especially when you have 2 who are into totally different things).

My kids (ages 5 and 7) were very engaged with the activities they had there. We stayed for a out 2.5 hrs and that's only because our kids were tired and wanted to leave! Total success! There is plenty of benches and seating for parents to sit. Their staff is very genuine and super nice. There were 2 staff members working at the time - one at the ticketing desk and one other person. It would be nice to see someone floating around to make sure things were tidy. Either way, this is significantly cheaper (and a closer drive) than going to the please touch museum where we would have spent over $100 for admission, parking, and food court snacks.

You have to pay to park here but it's not very expensive at all. Also, there is no food court so make sure your kids had a bite before coming. This place is right next to triumph brewery where you can grab something to eat but just know that their menu doesn't have a kid menu so you'd have to order adult meals that cater to your kids preferences. The area has other restaurants close by to go to as well that are more kid friendly.

Would I come back? Absolutely! This isn't a we every weekend type of place but more like a once in a while or once a month kinda place.

I always check our reviews before going to new places just to get an idea of the vibe so I hope this...