I just reserved a hotel room at CWD’s Friends for Life conference and I was wondering if anyone else was planning on going? It’s in July in Orlando and it’s a ton of fun (I went in 2006) and I can’t wait to go again.
Info here: www.childrenwithdiabetes.com.
Hey Allison,
I’m planning on going. I’ve already scheduled my vacation around it, but I haven’t actually reserved a room yet.
The only rooms left are at the overflow hotel. Don’t worry though - I emailed Laura Billetdeaux and she said they will have shuttles going back and forth between the hotels. But you should probably reserve soon!
Yes, we are going!
Awesome! Can’t wait to see you there. Have you been there before?
SO SOON?
Thanks for the heads up. I’ve never been to one, and I had no idea they are that popular!!!
Will be calling N O W.
I was a tad surprised that the hotel was completely sold out (but that’s also including the exhibitors for the first two days, and they take up a bit of space), but yes, they are VERY popular. I expect this conference to see around 3,000 people.
No, we’re first timers. Can’t wait!
You are going to have sooo much fun. It’s really easy to meet people, even the faculty, but if you get scared just let me know if you want me to introduce you to someone (I know most, but not all, of the faculty). I’m pretty easy to recognize cuz my pics are all over my blog, but I’ll probably stake out a booth during the Wednesday night exhibition time in case people I don’t know want to find me.
Thanks, hope to see you there!
Ill see you there Allison (CWD). Im coming out to Oregon next week and will be at Mt hood April 11-13 to host a Riding On Insulin Camp - you should come on out.
Haha, I wish I could Sean, but I live in New Jersey now! I’ll definitely see in you in Florida though!
I have been thinking of taking the kids to this conference, my 15 yr old has recently been diagnosed, but others have suggested it may be too overwhelming. As a veteran, what do you think?
I think CWD is a perfect introduction to life with diabetes, because there are so many kids and teens living with the disease. It’s a great place for a young person to make some friends, and for you as a parent, to learn from their experiences and from the experiences of the faculty (almost all have diabetes…). Unless your teen is extremely shy or just hates groups of people, then you might want to start out going to a smaller support group and wait another year or two. But if your teen likes to meet new people, there’s absolutely no reason why you would need to wait. I think now is the perfect time to get exposed to teens who are comfortable with themselves.
Oh wee! I live in Orlando. 
I’ll have to think about going!