babywings76
Gold Member
- 7,266
Well, I hope they'll be of help anyway. 
I won't post spoilers, but thought I'd share a few things that might help those leaving soon for Wave 2 and then 3.1. First off, the beds at the Hilton are double beds, I think at the Sheraton as well. We weren't aware of the size of the bed, so it came to a surprise for us. So now you know...2. Some people, as they checked in, were told they were all out of the 2 bed/2 bath rooms. So they were given a single bed room. However, the bed turned out to be a King size and the room was very large and there was room for 2 roll-away beds. So if that happens, see about getting those arrangements.3. Don't split the bill there. When we got there I asked the desk agent if I could put my share of the bill on my CC. She said that was fine and to do it when everyone in our room arrived and we'd get it situated. 2 of us put down our credit cards, and the other 2 paid together (the room leader). At checkout though, our 2 credit card payments weren't reflected on the room leader's bill. This turned out to be a mess at the front desk, and it seemed that the same thing happened to others. They decided that it would've been better if only the room leader had paid and we reimbursed her, or if ALL 4 of us each presented a credit card. 4. The buses come to the 8th St. entrance to the Hilton. So coming off the elevators, turn right and go down. Pass the Kitty O'Shea's restaurant and then you'll see the PC signs. There's a big poster thing that lists the whole schedule of conference and the bus schedules. 5. For those who want coffee in the morning. There is a little coffee machine in the rooms, or there is a Carribou Coffee kitty corner to where you go outside to the buses. Coffee is also available at breakfast on Day 2 and 3.6. At the McCormick center, lots of us were getting lost finding our rooms. The rooms are pretty close to each other, but it's still a bit confusing. There are signs up high on the walls pointing the way to the room #'s, but even still it was confusing sometimes. So watch the signs and also ask the staff if you can't find it.7. The HO tour line begins in the main open area. Our tickets given to us labeled the "Gate" that it was at and then we were running all over the place trying to find it. Then an HO person pointed out the section in the main conference registration/ vendor room. It is a huge room and so even though there are signs, they still don't really jump out at you sometimes. There's a ton of them, too.8. Don't leave the general sessions early. Some people thought it was over and ended up missing out on a free product gift.9. Merrill has a special gift they give for a certain purchase amount, but they only have a limited amount for each session. If that interests you, be sure to go as soon as you can. They ran out by the late afternoon of day 1 (I think that's when)10. We actually got out of our final general session early, so we had extra time. Some people took advantage of the extra time too much, though, and had a hard time getting to the airport on time. At the Hilton, there were a lot of people who were there to stay while they had another conference going on, and for us on the last day there were huge amounts of people in the bus loading area. The airport shuttle company was sending small vans and not necessarily on time. SO GET TO THE SHUTTLE PICK UP EARLY, if you can. It's much better to be early at the airport where you can eat lunch there and relax and know you are checked in and okay, than have all that anxiety and stress that you might miss your flight. The lines at the airport (Midway) were really long both outside and inside for baggage check. The security lines were also REALLY long and seemed to move slow, so be prepared for that.11. The Hilton has a computer by the Concierge desk that you can use to check-in to your flight home and can print out your boarding pass. (Southwest, at least, not sure how the other airlines worked, but they were all listed on the main page of the computer.) I believe someone told me that at the Sheraton, on the 4th level they had a computer for people to use.12. The Hilton does not have a computer there to use for other things, and you have to pay for the wireless if you bring your own.That's all I can think of right now. It's late and I'm beat. It's been a long few days. It was really fun, very exciting, lots of great stuff, and it'll be worth the wait! 
I won't post spoilers, but thought I'd share a few things that might help those leaving soon for Wave 2 and then 3.1. First off, the beds at the Hilton are double beds, I think at the Sheraton as well. We weren't aware of the size of the bed, so it came to a surprise for us. So now you know...2. Some people, as they checked in, were told they were all out of the 2 bed/2 bath rooms. So they were given a single bed room. However, the bed turned out to be a King size and the room was very large and there was room for 2 roll-away beds. So if that happens, see about getting those arrangements.3. Don't split the bill there. When we got there I asked the desk agent if I could put my share of the bill on my CC. She said that was fine and to do it when everyone in our room arrived and we'd get it situated. 2 of us put down our credit cards, and the other 2 paid together (the room leader). At checkout though, our 2 credit card payments weren't reflected on the room leader's bill. This turned out to be a mess at the front desk, and it seemed that the same thing happened to others. They decided that it would've been better if only the room leader had paid and we reimbursed her, or if ALL 4 of us each presented a credit card. 4. The buses come to the 8th St. entrance to the Hilton. So coming off the elevators, turn right and go down. Pass the Kitty O'Shea's restaurant and then you'll see the PC signs. There's a big poster thing that lists the whole schedule of conference and the bus schedules. 5. For those who want coffee in the morning. There is a little coffee machine in the rooms, or there is a Carribou Coffee kitty corner to where you go outside to the buses. Coffee is also available at breakfast on Day 2 and 3.6. At the McCormick center, lots of us were getting lost finding our rooms. The rooms are pretty close to each other, but it's still a bit confusing. There are signs up high on the walls pointing the way to the room #'s, but even still it was confusing sometimes. So watch the signs and also ask the staff if you can't find it.7. The HO tour line begins in the main open area. Our tickets given to us labeled the "Gate" that it was at and then we were running all over the place trying to find it. Then an HO person pointed out the section in the main conference registration/ vendor room. It is a huge room and so even though there are signs, they still don't really jump out at you sometimes. There's a ton of them, too.8. Don't leave the general sessions early. Some people thought it was over and ended up missing out on a free product gift.9. Merrill has a special gift they give for a certain purchase amount, but they only have a limited amount for each session. If that interests you, be sure to go as soon as you can. They ran out by the late afternoon of day 1 (I think that's when)10. We actually got out of our final general session early, so we had extra time. Some people took advantage of the extra time too much, though, and had a hard time getting to the airport on time. At the Hilton, there were a lot of people who were there to stay while they had another conference going on, and for us on the last day there were huge amounts of people in the bus loading area. The airport shuttle company was sending small vans and not necessarily on time. SO GET TO THE SHUTTLE PICK UP EARLY, if you can. It's much better to be early at the airport where you can eat lunch there and relax and know you are checked in and okay, than have all that anxiety and stress that you might miss your flight. The lines at the airport (Midway) were really long both outside and inside for baggage check. The security lines were also REALLY long and seemed to move slow, so be prepared for that.11. The Hilton has a computer by the Concierge desk that you can use to check-in to your flight home and can print out your boarding pass. (Southwest, at least, not sure how the other airlines worked, but they were all listed on the main page of the computer.) I believe someone told me that at the Sheraton, on the 4th level they had a computer for people to use.12. The Hilton does not have a computer there to use for other things, and you have to pay for the wireless if you bring your own.That's all I can think of right now. It's late and I'm beat. It's been a long few days. It was really fun, very exciting, lots of great stuff, and it'll be worth the wait!
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