Hickory Falls Family Entertainment Center — Attraction in Penn Township

So for months now My boyfriend and I have gone to Hickory Falls for a parental visitation every other weekend. Today, we were going to celebrate our granddaughters 2nd birthday, mind you it was 5 adults... us, her mom, and her other grandparents... no other children. They brought cupcakes, two balloons and a couple presents. We were there at 11am when they opened. Barely any other kids, people there. When a lady approached us and asked us if we were having a birthday party, we explained it was only us and it was our granddaughters 2nd birthday. The lady proceeded to tell us that was not allowed, and that we could rent a room for $50. We told her we were there every other weekend and spent well over $100 every visit. That it was only us, no other kids or adults and only had cupcakes. She said she was sorry, it was company policy... not allowed. SO, she said we had to take the cupcakes and presents outside, not allowed inside. I am a professional, as well as others there, and said okay but I would be contacting corporate as well as leaving a review. She then said that she was the General Manager and I said okay, but I wail still be contacting higher management regarding the situation.

I can understand the policy, but it was 11am, barely anyone there. Considering you have customers who spend money on a bi-weekly basis at your establishment, she could have said "you can go into a back room, sing happy birthday, let a 2 year old open her presents and come back out and enjoy the rest of your time." Easy, no other parties were taking place at that time, 30 minutes max. But no. I could understand if there were other kids there, bring food in, a full fledged party, etc... but only one, a 2 year old. Will not be back there, won't give them a cent. Is a great place to take kids, but at that moment, very inconsiderate, and rude. I hope upper management reads this and makes better choices with management, and understanding flexibility. It's all about customer service. Oh, so we had to open presents in the parking lot, in 100+...

Hickory Falls isn’t the right fit for my family, but I know many people love this kind of place, so I want to highlight the positives first.

Positives:

The staff here is fantastic—every person we encountered was polite, kind, and welcoming. Special mention to the team at the entrance, front desk, and food service—they were all top-notch and truly deserve 5 stars.

The facility was well-maintained, even in winter. The exterior looked great, and I didn’t notice any trash inside or outside.

If you prefer a less crowded experience, timing matters. We arrived on a Sunday before noon, and it was relatively calm, but by early afternoon, it got significantly busier. I imagine Saturdays are even more packed.

Negatives (or things to consider for families like ours):

Two of our four go-kart ride tickets went unused because the passenger karts stopped working, and our little one was too small to ride alone.

The overall atmosphere is high-energy—lots of blinking lights, screens, and noise, with little opportunity for a quieter escape (unless you step outside). If your family enjoys a more relaxed setting, this might not be the best fit.

The indoor play area felt safe and sturdy, but it showed noticeable wear and dirt, which is understandable for a high-traffic space like this. Like most indoor jungle gyms, deep cleaning is a challenge, and to me, it looked quite dirty. The webbing material resembled seatbelts, with rope or plastic-threaded twine, which naturally collects dirt over time, even with kids removing their shoes. I also found the area darker than expected—my toddler was initially intimidated and took a while to warm up to it.

We ended up here for a friend’s birthday party, but personally, we’d opt for a playground, a hike, or backyard playtime over this kind of environment. If your family enjoys high-energy entertainment centers, you’ll probably have a great time. If you prefer a slower pace, you may want to explore...

Mixed feeling about this place today. But we love Hickory Falls for all it has to offer. We did many parties here. One thing I’m conflicted on is the cameras. Necessary yes however in the party rooms I feel we should have some privacy. Camera protect all of us but I wish in the party rooms it would be some privacy. The problem this time was the fact that they had two parties going on in the same area adjacent to each other. This was in the upstairs space which is not a room but open space with dividers. It was way too much conflicting noises, very annoying. The staff was helpful, the manager Bri and Sarah the hostess. Both played their parts well. Bri even gave a small discount. What bothered me was the clean up crew. After we were told we could have extra time in the space considering the noise from the other party, it wasn’t honored. The clean up crew rudely came up and began taking tables and chairs away along with other items as we tried to clear up. As I said they were rude about it. This was even after we basically were taking care of our own mess. The last thing that bothered me and definitely needs to be addressed is the young man who works at the virtual station. He has longer dark hair and as I sat there several minutes through three sessions of virtual games, he would not stop scratching the heck out of his hair. I was concerned about lice which is highly contagious. It’s only because I sat there for a long period that I was able to observe this. Overall it was good, my kids always have fun. But please don’t schedule two parties side by side in the open spaces with no walls and please have that young man’s head checked for lice so no one else...