Our Family Weekend at the Woodloch Resort (Itinerary + Review!)

Well friends, we did it – we survived our first full family outing. 🙂 Better than survived, we thrived. If you caught the fun on Instagram Stories, you know we were truly ~thriving~ last wekeend at near the Pocono Mountains. We hadn’t been since 2020, so we were due for an adventure…and this time we brought Mimi and Papa along for the ride. The Woodloch Resort has been voted the #1 family resort by USA today for YEARS and for good reason – they’re an all-inclusive, family-friendly resort that’s open year-round, with activities, shoes and events that vary seasonally. They host groups for retreats and they’ve had families that have gone for YEARS for everything from reunions to birthday parties to girls’ weekends to a getaway justbecause.

They’re *also* in the top 1% on TripAdvisor. Did I mention their spa is ranked third in the WORLD? THE ENTIRE WORLD. Granted, I’m yet to be able to experience that fabulousness, but Lord knows it’s on my wishlist AND bucket list, because mama is due for a massage. 🙂 Anyhoo – we were stoked to visit the Woodloch Resort again with our little squad and to show Mimi and Papa the magic, too. I’ve got a little photo diary from our stay and our 3-day itinerary below with our hot takes + tips to apply to your own vacation!

This time around, we were in the Greenbriar rooms – which I would 10000% recommend. While we obviously loved our first trip to Woodloch enough to return, we stayed on the other side of the campus and just had to walk a bit more to everything. Greenbriar was right next to all the action, and you could get to the dining room and nightclub area without going outside – clutch for fall/winter travel months. 🙂

P.S. Per you request, I saved all of my Instagram Stories from the weekend to a highlight here in case any of you, too, are working on convincing your husbands or family to book a trip stat. 😉

Our Woodloch crew then (2020, left)…and now!

…GO BIRDS! 😉

Olivia’s Bluey sweatshirt!

$27 cardigan (feels SO luxe & cozy!) // My Tiny Tags necklace stack

Our Woodloch Resort 3-day itinerary:

Woodloch Resort Day 1:

Scenic boat ride on Lake Teedyuskung – A must! It’s a quick 10 minute-ish tour around the lake, great for soaking in some beautiful landscape. You can sign up in advance or just show up at the dock; boats ride out every 15 minutes or so during open windows.

My Amazon sunglasses (designer inspired!)

Indoor forest playground – There’s an awesome indoor climbing area complete with a separate toddler section – it’s adjacent to the indoor basketball court and another game arcade. Basically like Chuck E Cheese!
Dinner in the Main Dining Room – Each meal of the day has varied menu options – something that hits every dietary preference and need and then some. Since it’s all-inclusive, nothing is off limits if you choose a dining plan as part of your stay package – no meals, two or three meals a day (except alcohol is its own tab). Our first go at Woodloch, I was initially skeptical about how on earth mass-produced dinners could be any good…but holy moly, Woodloch blows away. Every single meal is legitimately phenomenal, and somehow you always get a perfectly prepared meal (I was close to actually ASKING the chef how things are prepared to be so timely – you have hardly any wait – but also made fabulously, hot, all that jazz). Regardless. Night one, I chose the Korean Fried Chicken Bowl with Kim Chi slaw and jasmine rice (they serve Italian wedding soup and an apple, cranberry & walnut salad with feta and a honey poppyseed dressing as apps…both of which were *chef’s kiss*).
Arts & Crafts room – This cute little space next to the main dining room was great to pop into after dinners but before entertainment was scheduled to begin; lots of kids would pop in to color or do a quick craft, and there’s an outdoor fire pit next to THAT where we’d hang out, too.

Evening Entertainment – Our first night’s entertainment was a one-man-show from Joshua J. Superstar. We weren’t sure what to expect going in and ended up giving the guy standing ovations – he was phenomenal and hilarious and wickedly talented. He was an insane juggler and unicycler and did fun stunts with audience participation…just so, so good!

Mimi’s first Cosmo…isn’t she cute?!

Woodloch Resort Day 2:

Breakfast in the Main Dining Room – Let me tell you…you’ll never go hungry at Woodloch. I had a frittata, turkey bacon, fresh fruit and then some for breakfast. By “then some,” I mean crumb cake. Woodloch Resort is KNOWN for their crumb cake. Actually, they bake *all* of their baked goods + breads on property! But let me tell you…get the crumb cake. And get one from the Country Store to take home when your trip is done, too. We had this every single morning with breakfast (warm! moist! YUM!!!). Bonus is the crumb cake with APPLES OMG.
Bumper Cars – The bumper cars might’ve taken the cake for biggest surprise this time around – and one of the most fun activities to repeat. They have their own little indoor bumper car arena, and it’s better than amusement park bumper cars because they’re free-riding and don’t have that ceiling-scratching pole…you know the one? The entire fam squealed with delight on these. I think we singlehandedly attracted a crowd in line after us for our wild screaming antics. 😉
Coffee at Gigi’s – I waited three years for a trip to Gigi’s, and it was well worth the wait! Gigi’s is the cutest little coffeeshop on campus with great seasonal brews and fresh baked treats. I’m always down for an apple pie latte!

My sweater (10/10, feels so high quality and has THUMBHOLES) // Wide leg jeans (also 10/10 and on sale for under $30!) // Favorite white sneakers // Mama’s Boy shirt

Family Go-Karts – Another top rated activity that we all gave 10/10! Olivia was able to be a passenger in my go-kart, and lucky for her, mommy is an absolutely psychotic go-kart driver. 😉 I’m that crazy lady that goes pedal to the metal the entire time, screaming for all to clear the path…so needless to say, she quite enjoyed the experience. HA. We all had a BLAST. (There is NO shortage of activities at the Woodloch Resort…they’ve also got archery, batting cages, zipline, a climbing wall, a skating rink…always something to do!).
Trap-shooting – Papa Frank partoke in trap-shooting and had never before…he dubbed it his personal favorite experience of the trip!
Lunch in the Main Dining Room – Hot tip: anything goes from the menus. French fries aren’t listed as a main offering…but they’re on the kids list, and if you ask for fries, you’ll get a basket of some of the *best* boardwalk-style fries you’ll ever have. Thank me later. 😉

Indoor pools – Turns out, Woodloch has an entire indoor pool & sports complex that we didn’t even SEE the first go around. It’s especially fabulous to spend an afternoon since they’ve got so many different areas within: a big main indoor pool, a “family” hot tub (not as hot as a regular hot tub, so safer for kids), hot tub jacuzzi, sauna, a huge splash pad and waterslide, and then another splash pad section for the littles. Oh, and a baby/toddler pool, too! Honestly, was most surprised that I could sit in the infant pool with baby J and it did NOT feel like 10 babies had peed in it prior. IYKYK. 😉

Dinner in the Main Dining Room – The harvest salad appetizer on this day’s dinner was SO DIVINE – we could not stop raving about it. For dinner, Mimi got the roasted eggplant which I *wish* I had gotten in retrospect, because it was probably some of the best eggplant I’ve ever had, ever.
Games in The Bunker – We explored The Bunker since we had a hot sec between dinner and entertainment time; the Woodloch has an abundance of game rooms and arcade spaces, and The Bunker is one said space underneath the main dining room. We played ping pong, pool, and Guitar Hero
Magic show – While most night shows are in the nightclub, we opted for a one-off magic show with “Mr. Hypno” in the Keystone room, which was just across from the nightclub. It was intimate and fun, and in typical Woodloch Resort fashion, the talent was awesome. Olivia, Jamie, Mimi AND Papa got to be personally involved in the magic action, which made it all the more memorable (and hilarious).

Blurry because I couldn’t stop laughing at Olivia laughing long to take a picture…HA.

Woodloch Resort Day 3:

Breakfast in the Main Dining Room – I opted for a loaded up acai bowl which did *not* disappoint. Their avocado toast isn’t my favorite – I’d recommend skipping it and going for the fruit + acai combos instead (or, they’ll make eggs/protein/toast combo you fancy!).

Petting zoo + pony rides! – This was such a sweet experience to see again, since Olivia’s very first pony ride was at the Woodloch three years ago! And turns out, it was the SAME PONY there again this time that the OG got to ride!

Then and now…both on Ava the pony!

Bumper Cars (again) – In typical Olivia fashion, she also made a few little girlfriends while were there – so naturally, had to meet up for a bumper cars playdate. Ha!
Go-Karts (again) – We had to do the go-karts again, too…such a thrill.
One last lunch! – Even though checkout is 11 am, you’re allowed to stay for lunch that day if you’re on the dining plan (as well as activities the entire rest of the day!!!!). Always amazed at how much we can fit into one weekend at the Woodloch. 🙂

Spanx quarter zip (Spanx discount code: ELGXSPANX – This whole line is SO SO FABULOUS – worth every penny! It’s such a buttery smooth but airy-feeling material…fantastic gift idea for her!)

Wide leg jeans (on sale under $30)

Favorite white sneakers