Bee's Backyard — Attraction in Scranton

Update: Still love this place!! AND they put two little stools in the bathroom (I noted this in my original review). Plus, on the weekdays, the price is SO reasonable! I can't recommend this place enough, for parents of younger/mid-age kiddos.

I love this place!! Okay, yeah...and my 4 year old does too! Short version: Fun, clean (!!), simple but engaging, reasonable prices, great for a rainy day, or just occupying your kids for a bit! Long version: We came across the Bee's Backyard, while trying to figure out a way to spend sometime in the area--waiting on a family member. Fortunately Google brought us here! It took us a moment to locate, but once a guard said "2nd floor, by Luzerne College" it was easy! (See photos)

My 4yr old and I were here from a bit after 11:30 until a bit before 2pm. While I will agree with some reviews that the place became a bit packed for my liking for about an hour (12-1pm ish)... Still, before & after that "peak" it was awesome! It's a large enough space to be exciting for the kids, but also small enough to still keep track of your child(ren)! We had hot dogs & drinks while at the Bee's Backyard. They were good, decently priced, and most importantly, convenient! The "Bumble Bar" had a nice, simple selection--so as not to be overwhelming & still have both "treats & healthier options" to snack on. Do note: mostly snacks are available. "Meal" options are hot dogs & Mac+cheese. Other +s: The place is clean!! The bathrooms are clean and easily accessible. (Could use a few kid stools for the sinks?) There are a number of tables, nicely spaced Do note: If you come during "peaks" you may not get a seat (I shared with another parent/child, and it was fine for 4 of us). My 4yr old loved the "main play area", climbing, sliding and running around the entire time!! The two " blow-up slides were a huge hit with my child too (the worker "on duty" was easy-going and quiet, helping the kids take turns. I do suggest standing with your child until they get the hang of waiting their turn. Also, the baby/toddler area looked very nice too (so wonderful to have options, for those with kids in several age ranges)! The young folks staffing the front desk were friendly and sweet with my child--I would have loved to have seen them more actively cleaning down surfaces, neatening up, etc. Rather than just "chilling" (I do realize that's fine too and makes for a laid back, pleasant atmosphere, but still...somewhere inbtwn would be awesome). The "Legoland walls" at the back were a great little addition--and an opportunity to create & share-space/toys with other kids. One more bin of Lego's would have been good--but I also know how those can be a nightmare to pick up! ;-) All in all, my child is still talking about returning a week later--we will be back! Thanks again...

If you're thinking about having your child's birthday party here do yourself a favor and DONT. We made sure to reserve a PRIVATE party for my son's second birthday, unfortunately we had to reschedule which seemed to go extremely well and was very easy. The problems started the day of the rescheduled party. We get to the location and there are two other parties there when we specifically booked a private one. Later to be told that apparently they do not do private parties on Sundays at the time we had booked it. No one ever informed us of this when we rescheduled which would have been nice so we could have picked another date. Even though it was frustrating we figured we would look past it. We get into our party room and start setting everything up and as I'm putting decorations and plates on the children's table I notice that they're FILTHY, there's what seems to be dried pizza sauce and crumbs all over both tables. Well then came time for the cake. One of the staff members offered to put our cake in a refrigerator for us and when they brought it back the bottom tier was completely sliding off. Now I'm usually very understanding when it comes to accidents happening and especially towards those in the service industry, but this was beyond ridiculous. To top it all off Paul thought that the perfect compensation for ruining a $75 cake was $20 off our party and a whole extra 30 minute in the party room. Did we get any sort of apology from him or the female "manager" that was there? Of course not, instead they tried to deflect the problem onto us and it was disgusting. A cake doesn't magically get destroyed from carrying it from the parking garage, especially when it's the only thing that was brought up at that time. The only person who apologized for this was the designated party host. My husband and I really thought this would be an amazing place to have our son's party after visiting a couple times and it was honestly the worst mistake ever. We will never be returning here and will be sure to tell everyone whos thinking of visiting or having a party there how truly...

I recently visited bees backyard with my autistic, nonverbal son, and unfortunately, we had a very upsetting experience. My son accidentally bumped into another child, and one of the workers (JOE) responded by yelling at him and being extremely rude and aggressive. When I explained that my son is disabled, the worker dismissively said, "Well, that's too bad," and continued to be rude.

This kind of behavior is absolutely unacceptable, especially towards a child with special needs. It broke my heart to see my son treated this way, and it reinforced my fears of people judging him or looking at him differently. As a parent, I want to warn others about this incident and urge the management to provide better training for their staff on how to handle situations involving children with disabilities.

I hope no other parent has to go through what we did.

EDIT- response Hi, I appreciate your response and understand that your staff member may have disabilities as well. However, the behavior we experienced was still very hurtful and unacceptable. It’s important that all staff members, regardless of their own challenges, receive proper training on how to interact with children with special needs.

While I did accept the passes offered, it doesn't change the fact that the incident was extremely distressing for my son and me. My intention is not to harm a locally owned business, but to ensure that no other parent or child has to go through a similar situation.

I will take down the picture of the employee as requested, but I hope you take this feedback seriously and work towards creating a more inclusive and understanding environment.

Thank you for your...