Kinda early, I know, but I was just curious if any of you are planning on going to WPPI next February. I was thinking of doing a trip to Cali, but I might plan it around Feb and kill 2 birds with one stone. Never been to WPPI or Vegas, and I feel it's somehow blasphemous since I'm a photographer and single. So who's planning on coming next year? Any tips from peeps that's been before (plane fairs, hotels, food, places to see, strategies, things you must do, etc)? It would be especially helpful if you an elaborate on ways to cut costs.
I am trying to go this time. Most likely stay at Venetian/Palazo, one of my favorite hotels in LV.
If it is your first-time in LV, then you are going to have lots of things to do: watching shows, site-seeing of beautiful hotels, fine dining, gambling ...
I will be there from Saturday to Thursday.
I need to book some more weddings so I can hit the new, larger Louboutin shop in palazzo while I'm there. Ha.
My biggest way of cutting costs? Me and my wife/kids who are coming are all staying at a friends house, parents are paying for gas, and that about sums it up for me
Oh um, cut costs? Hmm. Don't drink? Haha. Get a room with a fridge or mini kitchen and bring (or grocery shop) for bottled waters, sodas, and breakfast items. It's like $5 for a can of coke in Vegas. That's perfectly good shoe money going to waste.
Quick question: are most of you opting for the full registration pass ($199 for members), or the trade show only pass ($25)? There have been reports that the platform classes can be very hit and miss, so I'm wondering if the full pass is worthwhile.
@Sahid: we booked a good deal on SouthwestVacations.com for air and hotel at the MGM Signature. Definitely cheaper than had we booked airfare and hotel separately.
Well since I don't get much of a snowboarding season this year maybe I'll stop by for a couple days (figure I probably should since I've never been). Probably would just grab the trade show pass.
By the way Sahid (or anyone else for that matter), if you end up in LA/Orange County and wanna hang I'd be more than happy to take you a few places around here.
johnrg wrote:
My wife and I will be there Sunday - Wednesday.
Quick question: are most of you opting for the full registration pass ($199 for members), or the trade show only pass ($25)? There have been reports that the platform classes can be very hit and miss, so I'm wondering if the full pass is worthwhile.
@Sahid: we booked a good deal on SouthwestVacations.com for air and hotel at the MGM Signature. Definitely cheaper than had we booked airfare and hotel separately.
We look forward to meeting other FM'ers!
Sweet! I actually like Southwest over some of the other air providers *cough delta *cough
AA. Thanks for the heads up, I'll def. check Southwest. Oh, and from what I've heard, I think most people usually just stick to the trade show unless there's a class you REALLY want to attend or a speaker you really admire. Some companies also give out free passes to the trade show so you can visit their booths (like kiss and finao). I know I had a free pass a few years ago to both WPPI and PDN, but only ended up going to PDN. So I would wait a bit.
By the way Sahid (or anyone else for that matter), if you end up in LA/Orange County and wanna hang I'd be more than happy to take you a few places around here.
Awesome. I think I'm going to be in the SF area, but I'm going to try to make time and visit my old neighbor hood in Anaheim and OC, so I'll most certainly hit you up if I can make it that way. Thanks for the offer.
ckhagen wrote:
Oh um, cut costs? Hmm. Don't drink? Haha. Get a room with a fridge or mini kitchen and bring (or grocery shop) for bottled waters, sodas, and breakfast items. It's like $5 for a can of coke in Vegas. That's perfectly good shoe money going to waste.
Awesome tip, and would've never thought of it. Thanks for sharing. I'm gonna load up strictly on bottled H2O, since I'm trying to look like Jeremy Clay. See you there hopefully!
Tips and tricks:
- The cheapest bottled water at the MGM is at McDonald's.
- The MGM internet connection is so saturated it's unusable, so don't count on using it. Bring some sort of cellular connection if you need to get on, and even then expect some congestion.
- If you're flying Southwest, use your second checked bag to bring a suitcase full of snack food. Eat snack food. Then use the now-empty suitcase to bring back tradeshow schwag.
