MomToEli
- 1,007
It's too late for Wave 2ers, but for you Wave 3ers who are planning on parking at the HO and being shuttled in from there, PACK LIGHT! And be ready for long check in lines at the Hilton!
When our bus was dropped off at the Hilton, we walked into the lobby to find an incredibly long line. You will be carrying/dragging/pushing your luggage through that line with you. That was ugly.
It was NASTY when we left. I hope you will find my experience helpful ....
First - leave the hotel EARLY. All that luggage you took in (for me, it was a briefcase, a small suitcase, my hanging bag and my purse), plus what you are either given or buy while you are there is coming with you. You drag it all outside and get in line (I had a bellman take my stuff down, but you can't keep the cart to get you through the line!) and keeping dragging it with you. When you finally load it on the bus and get on, you have maybe a 5 minute ride to McCormick, then you get out and you drag it all to the holding area. While it would seem logical to have that area somewhat close to where you would catch the bus again, that wasn't the case. You walk quite a long ways to put it in this special area we were told about in the letter.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This area is NOT secure and it is leave at your own risk! Unless you want to carry that laptop with you all morning, don't take it! You walk right on past the area where the bags are being checked for the airlines and being put into cages. You get to pile yours into a corded off area. The area is not just for you on the bus, but for anyone who wants to leave it there. I know the Hilton charged people to store their bags for them. I don't know if that caused people to want to put their stuff in this corded off area or not.
After you are all done you get to go back (we had about one hour and 45 minutes between the end of the last general session and when the bus left - it loaded about 20 minutes before departure) and then drag all that luggage right back to the spot you started from in the morning when you got off the bus! You get to stand in line with it again, and when they are ready, you get to take it to the driver to load it up.
I've been to many, many conferences and conventions in my life - I must be a snob or something ... I have NEVER had to handle my luggage like that. I promise you, I will not EVER do it again, either. I will plan NOW so I can pay $45/night for valet parking at the hotel so I don't have to do that again. It is only money.
I had a great time at conference, but this left a very negative impression that will last a long, long time.
So, take a big enough suitcase - on wheels! - so that you can take EVERYTHING in it. Be able to lock it, or don't take anything that if it gets "lost" (or stolen) that you can't live without it or it would risk compromising people's confidental info. If you buy anything there - ship it home! Paperwork that you can buy there is HEAVY - even in small quantities. The totes we've seen photos of are nice, but beware - take very, very little stuff with you to the convention center that first morning!
If this helps even one person plan better, I'm thrilled.
And this is the ONLY negative comment that will come from these lips regarding National Conference. Otherwise, it was incredible!
When our bus was dropped off at the Hilton, we walked into the lobby to find an incredibly long line. You will be carrying/dragging/pushing your luggage through that line with you. That was ugly.
It was NASTY when we left. I hope you will find my experience helpful ....
First - leave the hotel EARLY. All that luggage you took in (for me, it was a briefcase, a small suitcase, my hanging bag and my purse), plus what you are either given or buy while you are there is coming with you. You drag it all outside and get in line (I had a bellman take my stuff down, but you can't keep the cart to get you through the line!) and keeping dragging it with you. When you finally load it on the bus and get on, you have maybe a 5 minute ride to McCormick, then you get out and you drag it all to the holding area. While it would seem logical to have that area somewhat close to where you would catch the bus again, that wasn't the case. You walk quite a long ways to put it in this special area we were told about in the letter.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This area is NOT secure and it is leave at your own risk! Unless you want to carry that laptop with you all morning, don't take it! You walk right on past the area where the bags are being checked for the airlines and being put into cages. You get to pile yours into a corded off area. The area is not just for you on the bus, but for anyone who wants to leave it there. I know the Hilton charged people to store their bags for them. I don't know if that caused people to want to put their stuff in this corded off area or not.
After you are all done you get to go back (we had about one hour and 45 minutes between the end of the last general session and when the bus left - it loaded about 20 minutes before departure) and then drag all that luggage right back to the spot you started from in the morning when you got off the bus! You get to stand in line with it again, and when they are ready, you get to take it to the driver to load it up.
I've been to many, many conferences and conventions in my life - I must be a snob or something ... I have NEVER had to handle my luggage like that. I promise you, I will not EVER do it again, either. I will plan NOW so I can pay $45/night for valet parking at the hotel so I don't have to do that again. It is only money.
I had a great time at conference, but this left a very negative impression that will last a long, long time.
So, take a big enough suitcase - on wheels! - so that you can take EVERYTHING in it. Be able to lock it, or don't take anything that if it gets "lost" (or stolen) that you can't live without it or it would risk compromising people's confidental info. If you buy anything there - ship it home! Paperwork that you can buy there is HEAVY - even in small quantities. The totes we've seen photos of are nice, but beware - take very, very little stuff with you to the convention center that first morning!
If this helps even one person plan better, I'm thrilled.
And this is the ONLY negative comment that will come from these lips regarding National Conference. Otherwise, it was incredible!
