re:Invent is the Super Bowl of Cloud Computing! This week long super 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 non-stop, jam-packed, and amazing for anyone who loves to learn.
I am an 8th time re:Inventor! re:Invent 2024 will be my 8th in-person re:Invent. I have attended 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 in-person. I attended re:Invent 2020 virtually as it was not in-person that year.
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.
Schedule 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. 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. This does not work for some sessions that have very limited seating such as workshops or builders sessions. With this basic knowledge you can develop your own strategy to maximize your session schedule.
Here are some quick tips how to utilize your time wisely at re:Invent.
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 recommended Hotel’s for re:Invent. More on the re:Play party below under special events.
- The Main Keynote (Dr. Werner Vogels Keynote on Thursday, December 5th from 8:30-10:30am) – 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 (Peter DeSantis on Monday December 2nd from 7:30-9pm) – More on Monday Night Live under special events.
- Networking Receptions (previously called the Pub Crawl, on Tuesday December 3rd from 6-8:00pm)
Tip: Decide on your top 3-5 Breakout sessions and schedule them in your calendar (even if you are on the wait list)
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: 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: 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.
- Venetian Expo to Mandalay Bay bus time is approximately 25 minutes to an hour.
I like to keep sessions at MGM Grand or Mandalay Bay during the same day. If I break to go from one casino to another plan it around lunch or before the evening networking events that start at 4pm or 6pm. I typically “mall walk” (fast walking pace) between Caesars Forum, Venetian Expo, and Wynn Expo floors.
What to Pack for a trip 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 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 utilized
Bring the largest suitcase you own with half of the suitcase not used upon arrival. This will allow you to pack SWAG you will receive upon your return trip. 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 so items do not shift when traveling. This gives me the ability to fill that space with SWAG and if necessary I can use the boxes for my return trip or discard them at the hotel.
Registration and Hoodie
When you register for the event at the Sands 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!
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.
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.
Food at re:Invent
One attribute about re:Invent that is unique compared to most conferences is how meals are organized. My basic rule is once Monday morning kicks off, you 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. What is not obvious is dinner. Here is the scoop, if you want a nice meal, this is your time to scatter throughout Las Vegas and find a nice restaurant. If you want to stay in the thick of the conference, you have options:
- Monday evening food: The “Welcome Reception” in the Expo hall opens at 4pm. During the welcome reception there will be many finger food 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.
- 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 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 based on my schedule.
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.
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 tasting better.
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 rest of 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.
Special 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 in the mornings and afternoons. 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.
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 2024 vendor parties.
Special Perks
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 the re:Play t-shirt at the re:Play party.
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 Certification lounge during keynotes.
AWS Community Builders, AWS User Group Leaders, and AWS 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.
Please share your corrections, suggestions and tips in the comments below!
See you at re:Invent 2024!!!
