Travel Advisor Team
Crafted by Travelers.
Curated by Experts.
At Ever After Escapes, our travel advisors don’t just book vacations… we live them. From all-inclusive Caribbean resorts and luxury cruises to European adventures, golf getaways, safaris, and bucket-list experiences, our team personally explores the destinations we recommend so we can guide you with real-world insight and firsthand expertise. Because the best journeys aren’t built from brochures — they’re created by people who have felt the ocean breeze, walked the streets, tasted the culture, and experienced the magic for themselves.
Steve Buettner, Founding Partner of Ever After Escapes, brings a lifelong passion for travel, storytelling, and unforgettable experiences to every client adventure. Known as our Cruise and Disney Parks expert, Steve has spent years exploring destinations across England, Germany, Iceland, and beyond while helping others discover the magic of travel for themselves. His passion for cruising, immersive vacations, and family-focused experiences played a major role in the vision behind Ever After Escapes... creating vacations that are more than trips, but lifelong memories. And with a bucket list still packed with dreams like an Alaskan cruise, Japan, and grand European adventures, Steve believes there’s always another incredible journey waiting just beyond the horizon.
Steve's Expertise: Cruises, Disney Parks, Universal Studios, All Inclusive Vacations, European Adventures
Steve Buettner's Travel Blog
Christmas at Oglebay: Make the Festival of Lights a Holiday Getaway
There are Christmas lights.
And then there is Oglebay's Festival of Lights.
From November 5, 2026 through January 3, 2027, Oglebay transforms into a holiday destination filled with millions of lights, festive displays and the kind of Christmas atmosphere that makes adults feel like kids again.
But here's the better idea:
Don't just drive through it.
Make a getaway out of it.
One of West Virginia's Great Holiday Traditions
Oglebay's Festival of Lights offers guests a chance to experience a massive collection of illuminated displays throughout the resort.
Pile everyone into the car, turn on the Christmas music and make your way through a landscape covered in holiday lights.
It's family-friendly, festive and an easy way to create a Christmas tradition that isn't another night sitting at home watching holiday movies.
Although, to be clear, we're still very much in favor of the holiday movies.
Stay at Wilson Lodge
Turning the Festival of Lights into an overnight getaway changes the experience completely.
Instead of worrying about making the drive home after your evening at the festival, stay at Wilson Lodge at Oglebay and enjoy more of the resort.
The getaway we featured includes lodging at Oglebay Lodge along with a Festival of Lights Driving Pass.
That means your evening isn't simply a drive through the lights. It's part of an actual holiday escape.
And There Is Hot Chocolate
This may be our favorite part.
Guests can return from an evening surrounded by Christmas lights and enjoy a nightly hot chocolate reception.
Cold weather outside.
Christmas decorations everywhere.
Hot chocolate waiting inside.
Sometimes vacation planning really isn't complicated.
When Can You See the Festival of Lights?
For the 2026–2027 season, the Festival of Lights runs from November 5, 2026 through January 3, 2027.
The featured event schedule is:
Sunday–Thursday: 5:30 PM–9:30 PM
Friday & Saturday: 5:30 PM–10:00 PM
Thanksgiving & Christmas Eve: 5:30 PM–9:30 PM
Christmas Day: Closed
That gives families, couples and groups plenty of opportunities to work an Oglebay getaway into the holiday season.
Give Yourself an Experience This Christmas
The holidays get busy quickly.
Shopping. Parties. School events. Family commitments. Work.
Suddenly it's January and everyone wonders where Christmas went.
A short getaway doesn't have to be elaborate to become one of the things your family remembers.
Sometimes it's a night away, millions of Christmas lights and a cup of hot chocolate.
Ever After Travel can help you turn Oglebay's Festival of Lights into your own holiday getaway.
Contact us to start planning your visit to Oglebay and Wilson Lodge for the 2026–2027 Festival of Lights season.
Event dates, hours, lodging, package inclusions and availability are subject to change.
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