Dig ‘N Play West Chester — Attraction in West Chester Township

We visited Dig n Play last week to celebrate the first birthday of my friend's first born son. I've visited this business a few times before, and they have great options for small babies and toddlers. I recommended we visit to celebrate.

We arrived and paid our admission for 2 hours of play. We actually had a good time for the first part of our visit. A large group came in for a scheduled birthday party. After they arrived, we (as in my group and myself) felt as if we were no longer welcome. The party of people that came in looked at us in disgust and actively made an effort to not let us around them. We spent most of our time separated from them, but curious children are going to wander and want to explore all the toys and options that they had. Eventually we became so uncomfortable we ended up leaving earlier than the 2 hours.

I tried speaking to the staff about it. I was very polite and asked if I could speak to a manager. She expressed there was nobody there at the moment, but she can take my complaint. I made sure she wasn't too busy and when she confirmed she had a moment, I told her that we are feeling very uncomfortable and we don't like the way we are being treated by this group. She said that she agrees it isn't right, but that they're friends with the owner. She recommended I give the owners a call and request a refund. Then she gave me the owners card.

I did end up speaking with the owner a few days later, but I felt that I was not being heard nor understood. She kept repeating that she can't control what other people do and regardless, it isn't a customer's job to make other customers feel comfortable. I have to disagree, as the impression I'm getting is that their comfort was more of a priority than ours.

We went back and forth for awhile, she offered our money back in a tone that didn't seem genuine. I told her it was never about the money and she asked what I wanted.

All that we really wanted was to bring our kids to a fun place to play. When we felt discriminated against, I didn't feel that we were wrong for speaking up. I understand that the business did nothing directly to contribute. However, they did nothing to stop it and did not care. The owner told me she can't control how people look at us or what they mumble. She said everything I was saying never happened. I have to disagree, and so does the rest of our group. It really felt as if we were not considered as a customer, though we all paid to be there.

The owner denied that she is friends with the party. And maybe this was all a big misunderstanding. But the fact of the matter is, that's what we were told, and it made us feel like we were not welcome and that regardless of how people are treating us there, it isn't Dig n Plays problem. That's a poor way to do business. I take complaints and take accountability for things out of my control on a daily basis. If the staff would've apologized to us and maybe told the party that everyone was welcome in that area it could've been a different story. Or even if the owner took more accountability instead of saying that everything I was saying isn't true, and that it's not her problem, I would be more understanding. Unfortunately, there was no empathy and it seems that they prefer a certain class of people in their establishment, and we didn't fit in there. At the end of the call, I did get an apology, but it was something along the lines of "I'm sorry you feel that...." From reading reviews over the past few months, I see this is a similar experience other parents have shared.

I wish the best as I understand the struggles of a small business, however, I would no longer recommend visiting here. 2 stars, as they do have great options for small children, and even though the owner was unprofessional, I do have the give them credit for taking the time to...

We had been here a few times prior to booking my daughter’s semi-private birthday party here this previous weekend. The times we came in prior were fine. The place wasn’t too busy, employees were at the front most of the time or going around cleaning up, mostly just sweeping up sand from the sand table. So I thought, great. I’ll book my daughter’s 4th birthday here because her last years party venue was awful but this year followed suit. I saw one employee when I first walked in, not at the front, she was at the cafe, so I went over and checked in and had to pay the remaining balance before getting into the room. Paid that, got into the room and the floor was still drying so it was extremely slippery. There were table cloths on 2 tables, no plates or anything were provided for the children like it says, luckily I brought my own. Later into the party, I went to the cafe to get a juice for my daughter, waited about 10-15 mins because there was only one employee, a different one from the one that checked me in, and she was in the front desk letting people in. While I was waiting for someone to come over, not knowing she was the only employee, or maybe she wasn’t, regardless, I didn’t see anyone else working there. A little boy had an accident in the bathroom and was needing his mom. My aunt took a picture of him and went around showing the picture of his face to almost every parent trying to find his mom because he was so young he couldn’t describe what she was wearing to us. We asked the girl at the front desk if there was a protocol or a PA system and she said no, looked EXTREMELY stressed out. Now when I say this, it isn’t on the venue to babysit the kids. Parents need to watch their children and have some type of awareness for how long their child has been gone. So after all that happened, maybe 10 mins later, we finally found his mom 🙏 the overall cleanliness of the place was not great. It was very hot in there and had a smell to it. One of the inflatables, the slides, weren’t inflated, I’m assuming because it was broken, which was a let down because my daughter loved that last time we were there. Oh, and to top it all off, my daughter is on antibiotics for pink eye, and was fine before her party, which again, I know it’s not on the venue unless they’re not cleaning properly. It’s on the parents NOT to bring their sick kids in places like that. Overall, not a great experience with a birthday party. Just going on a random Tuesday would probably be fine but as far as another party or on a weekend, absolutely not. Because if you go on a busy weekend, the parking is not great. Good luck finding...

I took my grand kids to this new location for the first time yesterday. They just relocated to this area. I want to say I liked the old "set up" much better. In this location - the space is longer and narrower - it is harder to keep an eye on your kids. In the other location you could see your child no matter where you were located. I want to say that the place was PACKED - to the point that it almost felt unsafe. I'm wondering if there is an age limit to play because while we were there - there were older - bigger kids playing. And they were running around having fun like all the smaller kids but they were not as cautious around the smaller ones making it a little dangerous for the smaller kids. Several times I witnessed smaller ones being pushed or knocked down by bigger kids - resulting in tears. The play structure has the back side up against the wall and one side against a bounce structure so you can only observe your child from the other side or the front. I had a hard time keeping track of my kids once they were inside the structure - that wasn't the case at the other location. This structure also is long and narrow and it is dark inside - the structure at the other location was open and larger. They still have the sand table and it is fun but they need to make it a little lower so it's accessible without little ones tottering on stools. The sand level was low as well so they were having to practically climb into the table to play. They took away the bounce house. The bounce structure they have is not large enough for the amount of kids that were on it - especially the bigger kids combined with smaller ones. They need to monitor the number that are on at the same time. I was on my toes the entire time making sure my kids were safe and trying to help them enjoy the experience however there are many tables set up for parents to sit and look at iPhones etc. One of my main concerns - while we were there - there was one lady working behind the counter and one teen age boy doing his best to monitor the play structure and bounce feature. He had his hands full. If you are going to pack that many kids in there you need to have more employees present. They also need to incorporate some type of exit strategy such as they are checking wrist bands to make sure you are leaving with your child. It would have been too easy for one of those kids to be carried out of there - with how crowded it was. I'm thinking once school resumes following the holidays it won't be so busy?? We only stayed for half an hour - the kids really couldn't...