It's that time of the year again, when AWS re:Invent come sneaking up on you. I have attended re:Invent every year since 2016 and in 2022 I was also a speaker. This will be my eight year in-person and one virtual in 2020.
Over the years I have collected a fair amount of tips and tricks how to survive not only re:Invent but also Vegas as a city. In this post I will try and share what I think you need to know before going to re:Invent as an (first or any timer) attendee. It will include what you need to understand about re:Invent, sessions, keynotes, Vegas, and how not to get scammed.
Prepare to walk a lot, get very little sleep, a ton of learning, and new friends!!
Buckle up and let's start out journey to the party capital of the world!!
Viva Las Vegas
Let's start with some Las Vegas tips and tricks that will make you re:Invent so much better!
Travel
So you have decided to visit re:Invent, hopefully by the time I publish this post you have already booked your travel, but still there are some good things to know.
First of all I don't recommend that you get to Vegas later then the Saturday before re:Invent, November 30th this year. Specially if you travel from other parts of the world. You will need Sunday to relax and fight the jet lag. But even if you are based in the US it's still good to have Sunday to settle in and prepare. Badge pickup also opens on Sunday, see the 'Intro to re:Invent' section.
I normally travel back home again on the Friday of the re:Invent week, there are session planned until lunch so getting a flight in the afternoon is good option. This year I will stay till Saturday.
Getting from / to the airport
Basically you two ways to get from the airport to your hotel, Taxi or Rideshare (Uber/Lyft). Don't assume that Uber/Lyft always will be the cheapest, they often are, but during busy hours the price go up, and the wait can easy be an hour or even more. There is a fixed rate between the airport and the hotels on The Strip (Las Vegas Blvd). Sometimes the drivers insist you use the meter, it will always be more expensive the fixed price, so don't fall for that trick. This is the first scam to lookout for.
For more information about fixed rates visit Nevada Taxicab Authority
Where to stay?
AWS offers deals on several hotels in Vegas. However don't assume that the prices via AWS is always the best, you need to do some research, and most years I manage to book at a cheaper price outside of the re:Invent portal. Here is a tip for you if you lan to come back again next year. All hotels in Vegas offers free cancellations, all money back. So by booking already in February I have managed to book good rooms as low as $45 / night (plus tax and fees).
There are many good hotels in Vegas, and where you stay depends on your budget. To be honest you will not spend much time in your room so for med a comfortable bed and a clean room is all I ever ask for. Over the years I have been staying more closer and closer to the Venetian, see the sections below. However, there are some benefits staying in the south end of The Strip, I feel that it's a more quite area. I have stayed in both MGM Grand and New York New York, yes this is far from The Venetian but I actually enjoy the morning walk with a cup of coffee in my hand.
Some of my favorite hotels include Paris and Horseshoe, I feel that Horseshoe is a underestimated hotel. It's very close to Caesars forum and you can walk down Linq Ln which is a great shortcut.
Vegas Weather
The weather in the winter in Vegas is very unpredictable. I have seen everything from snow to very warm weather. In the morning it can go as low as 5-10C (40-50F), and in the afternoon in the sun easily be 25C (75F). Layers, light jacket, hoodies are your friend. It rarely rain but when it does it RAINS, if you have room packing an umbrella or a rain poncho can be useful.
Things to do in and around Vegas
Vegas is the party capital of the world and there are plenty of entertainment and things to do. During re:Invent week you will be fully busy with re:Invent so don't try and add a lot of other things onto you schedule. If you arrive a few days before and want to change things up a bit this is what I would recommend.
Hoover dam and Grand Canyon
Rent a car and drive to Hoover dam and Grand Canyon. I have on several occasions done exactly this. Eagle point in Grand Canyon west is a good location. This is around 2,5h hours drive.
The Sphere
The Sphere opened up last year (2023) and there are some good show, I would recommend Postcard from earth
Las Vegas sign
The Las Vegas sign is a bit overrated but as a first timer it for sure should be on your list.
Walk The Strip
Just go for a walk down The Strip, take photos of all of the hotels. Walk into M&M Store, Hershey's, CocaCola, and several others.
Freemont street experience
Freemont street is the older part of Vegas and this is where you find classic casinos like the Golden Nugget. Freemont is well worth a visit, go in the evening, buy a beer, listen to some music, hang around and eat some cheap food. The prices on Freemont are significantly lower than on The Strip.
Don't get scammed
When visiting Las Vegas and re:Invent for the first time, or any time for that, you don't want to go home and feel that you got scammed. In this section I'll try and list some of the most common scams in Vegas, avoid them!
Pedestrian overpass
This is not scam per say, but as of very recent it's no longer allowed to stop on the pedestrian overpasses. This can lead to a hefty fine, if you stop to take some photos. I don't know it Police will enforce it, but hey, just avoid stopping.
Hotel convenience stores
NEVER ever buy things from the hotel convenience stores, this is seriously overpriced, you can have to pay upwards $10 for a bag of candy or snacks. Instead leave the hotel and go to Target or Walgreens.
Show girls and characters
All over The Strip you will find all kinds of characters, from Disney to Transformers, and show girls with big feather attire. All of them want you to take a picture with them, afterwards they will require a hefty tip, $50 easy. Now it is a tip and they can't legally charge you but at the same time you probably don't wanna make a big scene. IF you like to take a picture with them as a memory, make sure to agree on the "price" before snapping the image!
Monk scam
This is not unique to Vegas. All over you will run into these fake monks that try and hand you a bracelet, just don't take it. If you do they will start require that you make a donation, if you then try and hand the bracelet back they will argue that since you touched it, it has lost its "magic". Just avoid them, and put your hands up if they try and put the bracelet on you.
Fake CD scam
Also not unique to Vegas, is these people that try and hand you a "free CD". They claim to be struggling artists and even sign the CD for you. Of course they also want a donation for the CD, if you would take it and hand them some cash, the CD is 100% blank.
Freemont street stands
The street stands on Freemont street is crazy overpriced. If you want to buy from them, make sure to haggle a lot!
Five Vegas rookie mistakes to avoid
When in Vegas as a rookie there are things you should know, that maybe not class a scam, rather mistakes to avoid.
Tips tips tips everywhere
Vegas runs on tips, many of the hospitality workers rely on tip. I personally don't like the tipping culture, but when in Vegas make sure you tip the cocktail waitress, housekeeping, taxi drivers, and other hospitality staff. If you go to a re:Invent party with free drinks, tip the waitress. First of all you will get great service but second as this is a free event they don't make tips, so be kind and leave a tip.
Not using in room safe
One of the biggest mistakes would be to not secure your room door or use the in room safe. You don't want anyone to get into your room, but if they do you don't want them to easy steal your laptop. Use the safe people!
Hotel minibar
This almost classify as a scam! Be aware of the minibar in the room. The drinks and snacks are crazy expensive and many of the minibars has sensors that detect if you remove an item and automatically charge you! There normally are som vague signs about it, just don't touch the items in the minibar, and absolutely don't remove something to keep the drink you bought at Target cold.
ATM fees
Make sure you bring cash! The fees charged by the ATM machines in the hotels can be upwards $10 per withdraw!
Pot builder slot machine
If you plan to play some slot machines, understand that the "Pot builder" machine, this is machines that show some form of graphics like gold in a pot, fireworks about to go off, pigs that get bigger and bigger. If the pot fill up or the firework go off you win the bonus. This graphic is just a graphic and does not indicate that you are "close to winning".
Packing tips
There are so many re:Invent guides that give great advice regards packing. So I will not focus too much on it. The four things that you MUST bring is:
Shoes
Great walking shoes, trust me, you will be walking. On average I walk between 25-30K steps per day. Also, bring more than one pair.
Chapstick and moisturizer
Vegas is in the desert, trust me! Your lips and skin will thank you!
Earplugs
Hotels and Casinos are loud. RePlay is loud. Your ears will thank you!
Travel adapter and power bank
If you live outside of the US, don't forget your travel adapter! For all attendees a power bank is good to have, to keep your phone charged all day.
More Vegas tips
For even more Vegas tips and trick I would recommend to check out Jacobs life in Vegas and Travel Ruby both on YouTube.
re:Invent
That was a lot about Vegas and as a city and things to remember when visiting. Now let's focus on why we are here, re:Invent! This is such a huge event with 60-70K attendees every year, multiple days of learning, and late night partying. There are tricks to surviving this. A week of vacation when coming home for sure, just joking, but often it feels like I need it.
I will go over some major topics from meals, to sessions, reserved seating, parties, and much much more!
re:Invent Campus
The re:Invent campus stretch from Mandalay Bay in the south and Wynn/Encore in the north. This is a huge distance, we talk about 75minutes walking or 15minutes by car. It is across the entire Strip.
The campus consists of two main categories of hotel, venue and sleeping hotel. A venue is where you will find sessions and content, most venues also serve as sleeping room hotel. Then the sleeping room hotel is just for accommodations, there are no session or content. For all Venues and sleeping hotels checkout re:Invent Campus
Getting around
To get an good overview of the Campus area, and the different venues, check out the maps from conferenceparties.com.
First of all, don't underestimate the distance between venues. They might look close but the time it take to get from one venue to another can be very long. Also just walking from the entrance of the hotel to your session can be an easy 15minutes, these hotels are huge.
The transportation options you have are:
Walking
I like walking! I tend to walk everywhere. Often this can be the quickest route, depending on traffic. BUT!! Distance, don't underestimate it. Walking from Venetian to Mandalay Bay is easy one hour walk. So before opting for this, make sure to check Google / Apple maps to see how long time it will take.
Shuttle
AWS provide a free shuttle service that run between the different venues. This is a good option if you don't feel like walking. The shuttle time will be clearly displayed in the re:Invent app and at each venue. Make sure to check before you board, sometimes walking is faster.
Monorail
There is a monorail that run between MGM Grand and Sahara, AWS does offer, at the time of writing, free rides between MGM Grand and The Linq station.
For any changes in the services that AWS provide during re:Invent make sure to check out re:Invent Transportation
Session Levels
All sessions come with a set level and there are four different levels, 100, 200, 300, and 400. Going to a session on the wrong level, to easy or to hard, can ruin the experience. There are a few tricks I use when selecting the correct level, only targeting a certain level is a mistake in my opinion. Unfortunately level mismatch happens, where a session is advertised as a 300 level but the presentation is still on a 200 level.
During re:Invent I mainly focus on level 300 and 400, but mix it up with a couple of 200 level session on topics that I'm not familiar with or customer presentations.
100 Beginner
This is entry level sessions, I normally never attend 100 level session, that however doesn't mean they are not right for you. There are not that many 100 level sessions.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- New to AWS and new to the topic.
200 Intermediate
Intermediate level sessions, I find that 200 level sessions can be interesting if it's for a topic that I don't know much about. Many customer presentations, where a customer tells about what they build and how, are often 200 level. I have been in very many super interesting customer presentations where they talk about their solution.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- New to AWS and the topic
- New to AWS but familiar with the topic
- Familiar to AWS but new to the topic.
300 Advanced
Advanced level sessions, these sessions are on a deeper level and assume that you have previous experience with AWS and the topic. If you are not familiar with the topic and AWS you will probably not be able to keep up with the sessions.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- Familiar to AWS and the topic
400 Expert
This is the true deep dive sessions. In these sessions the presenter goes deep into the topic and AWS. These sessions assume that you not only have previous experience with AWS and the topic, but also that you understand the details of services, features, topic.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- Experienced in AWS and the topic
Session Types
There are several different session types. Knowing the difference between them is key when planning you schedule.
Breakout sessions
This is the most common type, 1 hour lecture style session. Most breakout sessions are recorded and published on YouTube. You might hear from other people that don't focus on breakout sessions, as they are recorded and you can watch them later. Even if you can watch a session recording later there is still something special being in the room, nuances are lost in the recording. I can enjoy a 200 level breakout session on a topic that I don't know, or a 400 level with deep dives.
Chalk talks
A smaller highly interactive session. Chalk talks normally start with a short lecture but then opens up for Q&A, discussions and whiteboarding. Chalk talks are great and I enjoy them, the room is often smaller and seats fill up fast. However, the quality on these session very much depends on the audience, as most of the session is interactive. Unlike a breakout session, if the audience don't open up for discussion or ask questions on the wrong level, a chalk talk can quickly be ruined.
Code talks
A smaller highly interactive session just as Chalk talks, but with more focus on live coding and code samples. Just as with Chalk talks the audience is encouraged to ask questions and follow along.
Lightning talks
Short 20 min talks that take place in the Expo Hall, this can be talks from the DEV track, delivered by the community, or partner demos and presentations. The DEV talks delivered by the community are great, partner talks and demos I don't get much value from.
Workshops
Interactive session where you work in small groups or alone to build a solution. Workshops can be a great way to test a new service or feature on a topic that you don't know. However, workshops quickly become a "copy & paste exercise" even on a 400 level. I have done my fair amount of workshops and still have not found one that I truly enjoyed. NOTE! That you MUST bring your own laptop
Builders’ sessions
Just like workshop but in a shorter and smaller setup. Builders’ sessions focus more on experimenting than workshops, a good way to mix up your day. NOTE! That you MUST bring your own laptop
Peertalks
Peertalks was introduced a couple of years back. This is a interesting concept where you can book 1:1 meetings with AWS staff, presenters, and other attendees.
Community activities
There are many community activities where you can network with your peers. There are something for everyone, from 5K run, Bingo night, Giant slide, and much more.
Keynotes
There are five keynotes happening during the week, I would say that you should attend at least one keynote in-person. You can also live stream some of the keynotes or watch them on YouTube later. I personally enjoy being in the keynote hall getting the news first hand. If you are a builder ans only want to attend one keynote, I would say that you should pick Dr. Werner Vogels Keynote.
Monday Night Live with Peter DeSantis
The week kick off with a keynote on Monday night with Peter DeSantis, Senior Vice President of AWS Utility Computing. He continues the Monday Night Live tradition of diving deep into the engineering that powers AWS services.
CEO Keynote with Matt Garman
Matt Garman, new CEO of AWS, takes the stage, normally Tuesday morning, and talk about new releases, customer cases, new experiences and much much more. This will be Matt's first keynote as CEO and I have a feeling it can be a interesting one.
Dr. Werner Vogels Keynote
Dr. Werner Vogels, CTO Amazon.com, takes the stage, normally Thursday morning, and talk about technology trends. Last year he introduced the Frugal Architect and the year before it was all about the asynchronous world. Werner often also reveals the DJ on the rePlay main stage. This is my favorite keynote and I would never miss it. 2023 I also had a front row seat.
Dr. Swami Sivasubramanian Keynote
Dr. Swami Sivasubramanian, VP of AI and Data at AWS, talks about AI, Data, and ML and how to create innovative and differentiated solutions for your customers. He invite customers on stage to talk about with real-world examples of how they’ve used data and generative AI to support a variety of use cases.
AWS Partner Keynote with Dr. Ruba Borno
Dr. Ruba Borno, Vice President, Global Specialists and Partners. She dive deep into the strategic partnerships to show the positive impact AWS and its partners are making possible for customers. She invites partners on stage that talk about their journey and how they are helping their customers innovate. This keynote is probably not for you unless you work for an AWS partner, as it focus 100% on this.
Build your schedule (plan your week)
NOW!! This is the most important part about re:Invent and it can make or break your week. Building your schedule and planing your week is crucial. Trust me, you don't wing re:Invent. Your plan need to be more than sessions, you need to include breaks, networking, evening activities, The Expo, The Hallway track and much much more. I will try and give you some tips and tell you how I normally plan out my week. There is one crucial thing you need to know about sessions so let's start with that.
Reserved seating
Each session has a fixed number of reserved seats, around 75% or so. The possibility to reserve a seat in a session normally opens in beginning / mid October. Therefor it's crucial that you have your schedule ready by then. You will reserve your seat in the session catalog and you must be signed in to your re:Invent account. It normally open up in the morning Seattle time. The most popular sessions become full in minutes, no joke, you need to be fast. What I normally do is have a list of session IDs and ordered by the importance, then I copy & paste and filter the catalog. Since sessions fill up fast, I normally recommend that you have one or two backup sessions. Even if you don't get a reserved seat, you can always line up as around 25% is set aside for walk up. Also is people don't show up the room will be filled with people from the walkup line.
Hallway track
You will probably hear about the hallway track, and I will mention it as well. This is those spontaneous meetings and people you run into in the hallway.
Session planning
To plan your sessions you can use the official session catalog or you can use one of the unofficial planners that exists. I would recommend https://reinvent-planner.cloud/ by AWS community builder Raphael Manke.
Planning tips & tricks
So now, let's go into some tips & tricks when it come to planning you week, and how I normally do it. My first advice is not to pack your days to much, leave room for breaks and food. If you plan to switch venues make sure to leave room for transportation, and don't book back-2-back sessions, you will not make it. You need at least 30min between sessions within the same venue, and at least 1 hour if you switch venue. There are exception to this rule.... And that is if you move between Venetian and Caesars Forum or Venetian and Wynn/Encore as there are connected walkways that are quick to use. I try and not do more than four sessions per day, it might not sound that much, but you need to stay alert to pick up the information, so include breaks and don't skip food!!
A second tip is to pick up your badge on Sunday so you are ready when it all starts Monday morning!
Expo and swag
The Expo is nice, it can be very loud so remember those ear plugs. Walk around the different vendors, get some swag from them, meet AWS employees in the AWS village, visit the Hero and Community Lounge. Plan to spend a few hours in the Expo for sure.
Swag is nice! BUT! Don't grab swag that you don't plan to use, be environmentally friendly and only grab what you need / use. Bringing swag home just to throw it away is not the eco-smart. If you plan to grab swag make sure to leave room in your suitcase.
Eat and relax
Don't skip food, don't skip breaks, don't pack your days! You need the energy to handle the days. Drink a lot of water, Vegas is still in the dessert, that chapstick.
Breakfast
Is served in several venues Monday to Friday, this is buffet style breakfast with different cold and hot options, it's decent but not anything fancy.
Lunch
Is served in several venues Monday to Thursday, just as with breakfast it's a buffet style serving. The lunch is also great but not fancy, they serve different things every day like pasta or tacos.
Plan for breakfast and lunch! You will need the energy!!
Breaks
Plan for breaks, go outside and get ome fresh air. If you are certified visit the Certification Lounge. If you are a Community Builder, User Group Leader, or Hero visit the Community Lounge.
Breaks are important and often you meed the most fun people in these areas!
Parties, networking, and evening activities
Vegas - The party capital of the world!
There are always something going on. AWS arrange several evening activities like the Welcome Reception on Monday and Networking Reception on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sponsors and vendors also arrange a ton on parties that you can attend to get free food and drinks. Don't party to hard though, there is always tomorrow. You can checkout Conference Parties for a list of parties, there will be more and more added very week up till re:Invent.
One big advice is to socialize, say hi to people, join strangers at lunch, join one of the community events. You never know who you meet, and I have had so many great conversations over lunch!
rePlay
On Thursday night re:Invent go out with a BANG with rePlay. On the main stage you will have some of the best DJs in the world, if you like dancing this is the place to be. There are free food and drinks during the party, the lines can sometimes be very long.
The party will be outside at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, it can be very chilly so dress accordingly, remember those layers again!
Shuttle busses go from the venues to the party or you can take the monorail, that is what I normally do, and AWS often arrange free monorail rides.
Final Words
This was a long post where I try to make your first re:Invent a great success. If I leave you with one thing, these are my top three advice for you:
- Don't pack your schedule, leave room for meetings and breaks!
- Talk to people, join strangers at lunch, you never know whi you meet!
- But most important! Relax and have fun!!!
See you all in Vegas! Send me a message on LinkedIn if you like to meet up!
Don't forget to follow me on LinkedIn and X for more content, and read rest of my Blogs
As Werner says! Now Go Build!
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