re:Invent is the biggest event of the year of Cloud Computing! This week long mega conference focused around Amazon Web Services delivers a full week of educational sessions, networking with fellow cloud developers, and opportunities to meet with vendors. This conference is a must for anyone who takes their career in cloud computing seriously.
Key items discussed in this post:
- Scheduling sessions and your time at re:Invent
- What to Pack for a trip to re:Invent
- Traveling in/out of Las Vegas
- Campus Map and Travel Between Locations
- Food at re:Invent
- Events at re:Invent
- Special perks at re:Invent
What is re:Invent
Re:Invent is an annual conference for Amazon Web Services that takes place in late November / early December in Las Vegas. Re:Invent creates an environment to learn, connect and collaborate with fellow AWS users, services, vendors, and staff. Those interested in learning more about AWS, getting certifications, networking with vendors, and/or connecting with other industries that can improve how you use AWS will find this annual conference a must. At re:Invent, you will be exposed to the latest tools and features available with AWS as well as have an opportunity to meet with key staff from AWS. When I say meet with key staff, I mean it! Most of the sessions are led by developers from AWS and developers will also be available at the Expo floor at the AWS booths. Though the conference is geared to developers and dev-ops, tech minded company CEO’s and CIO/CTO’s will also find the weeks worth of sessions, networking, and resources beneficial.
Justify Purchasing a ticket + travel
Typically the only barrier to attending the re:Invent conference is justifying the expense. AWS has you covered with this detailed guide.
In addition, Brooke Jamieson posted on LinkedIn this awesome re:Invent Trip Justification Generator built using Partyrock.
If you are still having issues convincing your employer to send you to the re:Invent conference, let me know! I have presented on the topic of the importance for staff to go to educational events and that may be able to help you.
Scheduling Sessions and your time at re:Invent
Now you have a ticket to re:Invent, the next big task is to start registering for sessions and planning your time. AWS will announce the sessions available typically in early Fall. Within about 4-8 weeks session registration will be available where you can register for sessions. Because of this schedule, I recommend the following steps:
- As soon as the sessions are available, review the sessions catalog and start maintaining a spreadsheet of the sessions you want to attend. At this point you will not know what day they will take place. Keep in mind that many sessions are repeated throughout the week.
- When the date is announced that registration will open, you will want to plan on being at a desktop computer to quickly register for the most important sessions you wanted to attend that day. In years past it started at noon Eastern time.
- Sessions that you wanted to attend that end up full put into your calendar event calendar. You still have a 2nd opportunity to attend the session by showing up early. This special “walkup” line is by design, see the note below on the walkup line option.
You first want to fill your schedule with sessions that are the most important to you. If a session you wanted is full, you can plan on waiting inline at the conference for a second chance to get into the session (walkup line). This works well for most sessions, but it does not work for sessions that have very limited seating such as workshops or builders sessions. But the location matters! If the workshop or session is at MGM or Mandalay Bay, show up early for the walkup line. You will most likely get in to those sessions at those venues as they are far from the Venetian Expo which is the center of the conference. With this knowledge you can develop your own strategy to maximize your session schedule.
Here are some tips how to utilize your time wisely at re:Invent.
Tip: Plan evening hours first
Each day is jam packed.
Monday
- 8am – 7pm Conference sessions
- 4pm-7pm Welcome reception in Expo – Vendors will be giving away their best swag and there will be plenty of drinks and food (your dinner is taken care of if you attend the opening day of the Expo)
- 7:30pm – 9:00 pm Monday Night Live – Awesome not quite keynote everyone should attend if they can
Tuesday
- 8:30am-10:30am CEO Keynote
- 11:30am- 6:30pm Conference sessions
- 6pm – 8pm Networking receptions – An evening at one of many restaurants close to the conference sponsored by AWS or re:Invent sponsors. Typically each restaurant will have an open bar and finger food.
Wednesday
- 8am – 6:30pm Conference sessions
- 6pm – 8pm Networking receptions – Another evening at one of many restaurants close to the conference sponsored by AWS or re:Invent sponsors. Typically each restaurant will have an open bar and finger food.
Thursday
- 8:30am-10:30am Keynote with Dr. Werner Vogels & Peter DeSantis
- 11am – 5:30pm Conference sessions
- 7:30pm – Midnight re:Play party – The re:Play party is the ultimate event at re:Invent. re:Play will have multiple food options to pick from and various open bars throughout the re:play campus. See re:Play party for more details.
AWS Heros, Community Builders and User Group leaders: If you are an AWS Hero, Monday night is your night to network with fellow Heros. If you are an AWS Community Builder, Tuesday night is your night to network and meet with fellow Builders! If you are an AWS User Group leader, Wednesday night is your night to network together.
I strongly recommend reaching out to the vendors you work with to find out what they have planned at re:Invent. In past years, Salesforce, DataDog, HashiCorp, Snowflake, Atlassian, Microsoft, GitHub, Okta, Snyk, Adobe, CrowdStrike, Veeam, and many more will have booths and may also organize networking events Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Tip: Schedule your sessions and must-attend events as soon as the session registration opens
When scheduling sessions and other events at re:Invent you start to build your own calendar. You can also add your own time slots to the calendar to help you with other events you may have going on during the conference. I strongly recommend using this as your calendar for the week rather than using your own personal calendar (see next tip)
Tip: Use the Calendar in the event app
Use the calendar feature built into the event smart phone app. Add any appointments and out of conference meetings you may have along with your scheduled sessions. This will help you have one source of truth to keep track of your time.
Tip: Schedule the important events first (AND DO NOT MISS THEM)
Schedule the important events right away, and DO NOT MISS THEM! Here are the important events you cannot miss while at re:Invent:
- re:Play party (On Thursday December 5th from 7:30pm – midnight) – Plan on jumping on a shuttle (bus) from any of the major Hotel’s, the hotels recommended by re:Invent will have shuttles available. More on the re:Play party below.
- The Main Keynote on Thursday 8:30am-10:30am – Plan on being either in an overflow room or streaming it live to your device. More on Keynotes below under special events.
- Monday Night Live on Monday from 7:30-9pm – More on Monday Night Live.
- Networking Receptions (previously called the Pub Crawl) on Tuesday and Wednesday from 6-8:00pm
Tip: Sessions have two lines (registered and walkups)
The registered line is for folks who are registered for the session. They get the first opportunity to pick seating for that session. They lose their position in line at 11 minutes before the session starts. Even though the rule is 10 minutes, use 11 minutes as I have found myself arguing with the staff that I arrived on time according to my phone but not according to her clock on the wall. Not worth the hassle, 11 minutes is the cut off.
The walkup line can start filing into the session at 10 minutes before the session starts. In some cases, folks wait 1 hour ahead of the session in the walkup line to guarantee themselves an opportunity to attend the session.
I found Monday to be the hardest day to get into sessions using the walkup line. Once everyone figures out how everything works the lines and waits seem to balance themselves out. In most cases if you arrive early enough you will get into the session even if it is “full” according to the app. In some cases sessions are not full until a minute or two after they started.
Tip: Decide on your top 3-5 Breakout sessions and schedule them in your calendar (even if you are on the wait list or session is full)
If you are on a waitlist for the “Breakout” sessions you registered for, you can attend this type of session if you plan ahead. I am not sure exactly on the numbers, but re:Invent does not completely fill the seating for a particular session to its maximum capacity, this allows folks who walkup and wait in a 2nd line to attend. With this in mind, if you walk up about 30 minutes ahead of time to the desired session, you will be close to the front of the walkup line. In most cases this is good enough to get a seat in your desired session. Note this is only the case for “Breakout sessions” and “Chalk talks”. Other session types this approach may not work.
Tip: Arrive 15-20 minutes early to your registered sessions
If you arrive 11 minutes before the session starts you are at risk of not getting into your session. At 10 minutes before the session starts you have to get into the back of the walkup line. Sometimes you can get lucky and use the registered line, but I have found the staff who scans badges for the sessions are not friendly to folks who are registered who are less than 11 minutes early to the sessions.
Tip: Schedule sessions based on location each day
I recommend scheduling your sessions bases on the venue location for most, if not all, of the day. Travel time between casino venues can take as much as an hour of your time in each direction. See Campus Map for more details with traveling between conference venue casinos.
The Venetian Expo is the heart of the re:Invent conference.
- Venetian Expo to Wynn walk time is approximately 30 minutes.
- Venetian Expo to Caesars Forum walk time is approximately 10 minutes.
- Venetian Expo to MGM Grand bus time is approximately 20-45 minutes (walk is approximately 45-60 minutes).
- Venetian Expo to Mandalay Bay bus time is approximately 25-60 minutes (walk is approximately 55-70 minutes).
I like to organize an entire day of sessions at MGM Grand or Mandalay Bay to avoid wasted travel time on the bus. I plan my bus rides from 11:30am to 1:30pm (around lunch) or before the evening networking events. I typically “mall walk” (fast walking pace) between Caesars Forum, Venetian Expo, and Wynn Expo floors.
Tip: Limit your workshops and Builder sessions
Workshops and Builder sessions are very hard to get into. They typically fill up fast and have limited seating. If you can register for one, be 100% sure to make it to this session. They typically require you to bring your computer and give you an opportunity to try services right there with support staff to help you.
What to Pack for a trip to re:Invent
When you pack you obviously want to bring what you want to wear, toiletries, etc.. Depending on where you are traveling from however, you may find you want some items that you didn’t think to bring. Here is a quick list of extras!
Tip: Bring Chapstick/lip balm
Las Vegas is in the desert and it is dry! Some booths at the expo hall may give out branded Chapstick if you forgot to bring some.
Tip: Bring breath mints
Many booths at the expo hall will be giving out breath mints if you forgot to bring some.
Tip: Bring 2 pairs of comfortable walking shoes
You will be doing a lot of walking at re:Invent. I bring 2 pairs of my most comfortable shoes.
Tip: Bring shades and/or hats
Bring sunglasses and/or hats to wear if you will be outside.
Tip: Bring clothing for fall weather
The weather in November/December in Las Vegas is typically in the 40-60 Fahrenheit (5 – 15 Celsius). You will get a hoodie at the Venetian registration area, you could leave one of your warmer tops at home.
Tip: Bring a battery charger
You will most likely drain your phone’s battery using the event app, taking photos, and looking random stuff up.
Traveling in/out of Las Vegas
Flying in/out of Las Vegas right after the United States Thanksgiving holiday can be a bit of a challenge. I have found flying in on Saturday, if you have that option, is the least stressful day to arrive. You will find that some folks arrive on Monday, Tuesday and as late as Wednesday. Folks that arrive days late are cutting themselves short on the opportunities re:Invent has to offer, but it is understandable when you think about the logistics, holiday the week before, and folks who have to balance work and family while also attending the conference. Stuff happens, at least you made it!
Tip: Get your badge while you are picking up your baggage
If you are flying in on Sunday or Monday between 7am and midnight, you can pickup you badge at the baggage carousels. This is a real time saver, allowing you to go straight to sessions on Monday morning.
Tip: Travel with a large suitcase only 1/2 packed
Bring the largest suitcase you own with half of the suitcase not used upon arrival. This will allow you to return with SWAG you will receive at the conference. I travel with a 30″ suitcase that allows me to expand the depth 5″ with a pull of a zipper. I pack nearly everything I will need in one side of the suitcase and the other half I will pack 1 or 2 empty boxes to fill the void. The empty boxes prevent items from shifting when traveling.
Registration and Hoodie
When you register for the event at the Venetian Expo hall you will be given a badge with a lanyard and any extra credentials you may need. You can also register at the other venues and at the airport on certain days. At the Venetian Expo, across from registration is the Hoodie booth. Do not forget to pickup an event Hoodie! These special hoodies are unique for each re:Invent and the quality of these hoodies is excellent. For those traveling from warmer climates, this hoodie is what you will need for the 40 degree evenings in Las Vegas in early December. For us folks who experience 40 degree weather at home, this is an extra hoodie to add to your collection!
re:Invent 2024 saw the first year of a classic hoodie (no front zipper). In years past they gave out front zippered hoodies which are much easier to take on/off when going into warmer areas of the conference. I hope this year they return to the zippered hoodie design.
I plan on bringing my own zipper hoodie this year to wear during the conference just in case they give out classic non zipper hoodies.
Campus Map and Travel Between Locations
The Campus map for the re:Invent conference can be quite confusing. This conference is huge, so large no single casino conference space can host everything. To solve this situation, re:Invent organizers setup shuttle (bus) routes between the key venue locations so it is easier to go between locations. The locations highlighted in light green are the venues you wish to visit during the conference.
Venue Locations explained:
- Venetian Expo – This is the heart of the conference. Keynotes, Expo floor, Registration and largest lunch hall is located here. This is the conference’s home base of operations.
- Caesars Forum – Next door (south of) to the Venetian Expo, walk along the left side of the expo floor and follow the signs to quickly get to Caesars Forum. From the Expo floor, you can walk to Caesars Forum within 10 minutes or less.
- Wynn Expo – Next door (north of) to the Venetian Expo, but not as close or convenient as Caesars Forum. In years past there was a way to Sands Avenue at the Venetian Expo doors on the lower level then walk across Sands Avenue, but last year we had to take a longer walk through the Venetian and Bellagio casino floors, cross the street then walk through the Wynn casino floor on the way to the Wynn Expo. This walk can take about 30 minutes.
- Encore – This is a sister building to the Wynn and is north of the Wynn. There are no sessions at this location but you may have to go there for special meetings.
- MGM Grand Expo – Down the strip (south of the Venetian on the same east side of the strip). Plan on a campus shuttle (bus) from the Venetian or take the monorail from the Caesars Forum. Travel times will be between 20-45 minutes.
- Mandalay Bay Conference Center – Down the strip (south of the Venetian on the opposite side of the strip). Plan on a campus shuttle (bus) from the Venetian, travel times will be between 25 minutes to an hour.
Tip: There is a lot to the Venetian, think of it as 3 different places
I separate the Venetian into 3 distinct parts:
- Venetian Expo – This is the expo area, to be here you need to pass through security. This is the eastern half of the Venetian.
- Venetian Casino – On the 1st Level only, this is where you will enter/exit when coming from the Las Vegas Strip. Watch for people standing with a flag on their back (see photo), they will guide you to the conference.
- Venetian Mall / Canal Shops – This is the 2nd Level, but there is some aspects of the mall between the Casino and Expo. Take notes of these restaurants you pass as you may want to stop there in the evening for hosted events by sponsors.
Tip: Travel between casino’s during lunch and grab a boxed lunch before you board
When traveling between casino’s you will find the drive can be anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour. A good way to utilize this time is to eat lunch. Luckily AWS knows this and will have boxed lunches available that you can quickly grab and take with you to your next session or on the bus ride.
Tip: Caesars Forum is not the same as Caesars Palace
The famous casino Caesars Palace is not the same as Caesars Forum. I have no idea why they called the conference space Caesars Forum, but they are on completely different sides of the Las Vegas strip and are NOT connected together in anyway. If you tell a cab driver to take you to Caesars, you will end up at the wrong place.
If you are standing in front of the Expo floor entrance, follow signs to Caesars Forum, it is actually not that far away from the Expo entrances. There are two entrances to the expo, one is closer to Caesars Forum bridge, the other entrance also has SWAG pickup and is close to the DataDog escalator slide (you will know when I mean when you see it).
Tip: Bridge to Wynn is hidden in plain sight
There is a door across from the Expo entrance where you pickup Swag such as your conference hoodie. this leads down a hallway that takes you to a bridge that puts you right where you need to be for the Wynn conference center.
Tip: Walk the Venetian campus on Sunday
Though the Venetian Expo or sessions will not be available on Sunday, this is an excellent opportunity to walk between the Venetian Casino, Venetian Canal Shops, Venetian Expo, and the Wynn. You may find the 2nd floor Venetian Mall Canal Shops will provide shortcuts in/out of the Venetian Expo that are convenient for you and where you are staying.
Tip: The Las Vegas Strip and Formula 1 Racing throws a wrench into logistics
The Las Vegas strip will look a bit funny until you discover that they just held the annual Formula 1 race in town. The race creates a mess on the main strip and it does disrupt traffic. When we are there for re:Invent there are construction crews taking down the race barriers, fences and barriers they put up for the race. From what I understand this process takes over a month. Because of this, the shuttle/bus rides may not work as efficiently as planned.
Food at re:Invent
One awesome aspect about re:Invent compared to most conferences is how meals are organized. My basic rule is once Monday starts, I do not have to worry about meals until the end of the conference on Friday. Breakfast is provided from 7-9am Monday-Friday, Lunch is provided from 11am-1pm Monday-Thursday, and dinner is available when attending events. Dinner is your opportunity to go out on your own and pay for a nice meal somewhere in Las Vegas or you can continue to network with others at the conference. If you want to stay in the thick of the conference and network, here are your options:
- Monday evening food: The “Welcome Reception” in the Expo hall opens at 4pm. During the welcome reception there will be many finger food options and drinks you can grab as you navigate the expo floor. The Welcome reception will also be the optimal time to pickup SWAG from vendors. Perfectly timed is the Monday Night Live event hosted next to the expo floor.
- Tuesday evening food: The “Networking receptions”, runs from 6-8:00pm. Depending on the location you will have finger food and drinks available.
- Wednesday evening food: The “Networking receptions”, same as Tuesday, run from 6-8:00pm. Depending on the location you will have finger food and drinks available.
- Thursday evening food: re:Play party will have a huge spread of food options and drinks.
- Any evening of the week: Vendor parties may have food, but definitely drinks. Depending on your priorities, this may be your perfect option
Lunch is served at re:Invent either dine-in or in to grab and go boxes. You can either enjoy a buffet style lunch or grab a boxed lunch quickly and head to your next session. I usually opt for the boxed lunches when my schedule is tight.
At 3pm snack and drinks are served in the hallways of the sessions.
If you are AWS Certified, be sure to visit the Certification lounge for drinks at anytime of the day as well as light breakfast options in the morning and healthy snacks at lunch and 3pm.
If you are an AWS Hero, Community Builder, or User Group leader, there is a special lounge in the Venetian Canal Shops available for you. Please see the #aws-reinvent channel in slack for details.
Tip: Grab a boxed lunch if you are pressed for time
You can grab a boxed lunch and eat it at your next session or while riding the shuttle (bus).
Tip: Best Location to eat breakfast/Lunch
The Venetian location is the best location to have breakfast and/or lunch. It’s proximity to the most critical sessions, keynotes and expo hall make it a central hub. I have found the dine-in food at the Venetian is not as good as the other locations however, better location but worst food.
Tip: Best food to eat breakfast/lunch
The Wynn, Mandalay Bay, MGM grand, and Caesars Forum locations have better dine-in food than the Venetian. These dining areas are smaller than the Venetian’s which may have something to do with the food being better. I personally like the lunch at Caesars Forum and Wynn. I personally will pick what makes the most sense logistically for my schedule.
Tip: Bring your own hot sauce
If you like hot sauce or other unique condiments, bring them with you to the conference. Sometimes you can find tiny bottles of Tabasco sauce, but not always. May sound silly to most, but sometimes just a touch of hot sauce on otherwise bland scrambled eggs can make a huge difference on your smiles through the day!
Tip: 3pm snack and beverage time
At about 3pm each day there will be strategic tables placed in the middle of the hallways of sessions with beverages, coffee/tea and snacks.
Events at re:Invent
Below is a quick list of special events at re:Invent.
re:play Party
DO NOT MISS the re:Play party. I made this mistake at my first re:Invent! The re:Play party is hard to explain in just 2-3 sentences. Essentially there are multiple circus size tents, outdoor activities, music, food, and drinks spread out on the Las Vegas Festival grounds. This is your last opportunity to pickup really cool SWAG, the official re:Play 2024 t-shirt!
See the official re:Play webpage for more details.
Even if you are an introvert and hate socializing, you will still want to go to get the free t-shirt, try a few of the various foods they will have at the Grub hall, watch fellow nerds on the adult sized bounce house equipment, play a vintage arcade game, then enjoy the live techno music before you head out. Trust me, you will not be bored – you may not stay until midnight but you will definitely be there for more than an hour also.
5K Race
Each year re:Invent hosts a 5k race. This year the race starts at 6am at the Mandalay Bay Arena. Please the registration desk for more details.
Monday Night Live
Monday Night Live is a very exciting and special keynote that talks about the engineering involved with AWS services. If you want to understand how everything comes together under the hood, this is a must-attend event. I had the opportunity to attend the 2016 version of this (Tuesday Night Live as it was on Tuesday that year) with James Hamilton and it blew my mind.
Keynotes
There are Keynotes from Monday-Thursday. My first re:Invent conference, I attended all of the Keynotes and found them to be full of product launches and highlighted use cases. If your goal is to keep up with new AWS technology, the keynotes are a must. I strategically pick the keynotes I attend based on my session schedule.
Expo Hall
The expo hall is a must-stop during the conference. The hall is made up of mostly 3rd party vendors. Most of the vendor booths are with startups and small size companies giving you a chance to meet in-person the founders and creators. The larger booths typically give out the most lavash swag. At the heart of the hall is the “AWS Village”, where you can go to specific kiosks to meet with AWS engineers and support staff to ask questions and talk shop. Please checkout the far corner “Developers Pavilion” to meet with AWS Community Builders and User Group leaders like myself!
Vendor Parties
There are a lot of vendor parties from vendors such as DataDog, CloudFlare and Snowflake. Some parties will have special swag, unique bar experience, music and/or food. Most require you to register ahead of time or stop by their booth in the Expo Floor to pickup an invitation.
Visit ConferenceParties.com for a full list of re:Invent 2025 vendor parties.
Special Perks at re:Invent
There are special perks for various groups and organizations. This is not a full list but should give you an idea where to start.
re:Invent SWAG
The re:Invent conference is swag central! Plan on getting a hoodie at registration, special swag at the Certification lounge (if you are certified), bags full of swag from vendors at the Expo hall, and maybe you will get a t-shirt at the re:Play party. For 2024 they did not have re:Play t-shirts, but instead we saw both Weezer and Zedd live. I would gladly not have a t-shirt and instead see Weezer or Zedd, and we got to see both in 2024!
AWS Certification Lounge
If you have an AWS Certification that is not expired, you have available to you perhaps the best perk of re:Invent, the AWS Certification Lounge. The Certification Lounge is Monday-Thursday from 7:30am-5pm. The Lounge will have coffee and tea available all day. In the first hour of the morning they will have quick grab breakfast items like fresh fruit and pastries. The Certification lounge will have special swag you will want to pickup on the first day of the conference. This is a great place to listen to or watch Keynotes, but the secret is out and it can be hard to find a seat in the lounge during keynotes.
AWS Community Builders, User Group Leaders, and Heros
AWS Community Builders, User Group Leaders and Heros have a lounge available just outside of the conference in the Venetian Canal Shops. If you are a Community Builder, User Group Leader and/or Hero please checkout the #aws-reinvent channel in slack for details.
Legos at re:Invent
Legos are a big part of re:Invent! One year I attended I befriended Lego employees and learned about how they use AWS.
Hi, I’m Angelo Mandato
I am a seasoned (yes I have some gray hair) Software Architect and have been developing with AWS since 2007. I am AWS Certified, an AWS User Group organizer for Columbus, Ohio, and an AWS Community Builder. I have been attending re:Invent since 2016. This year will mark my 10th re:Invent. Through the years I have witnessed the amazing transformation of this conference and how it has helped lead the cloud industry forward with innovation and collaboration.
Please share your corrections, suggestions and tips in the comments below!
See you at re:Invent 2025!!!
