VMworld 2009 Schedule Builder – No more ridiculous lines! (Hopefully)

If you are planning on attending VMworld 2009, the Schedule Builder will be online Monday, August 3rd.  This is a great way to plan out all of the Sessions you will want to visit during the 4 day Virtualization conference.  Be sure to use the Schedule Builder to secure your spots in the instructor-led LABs.  A very minor change that was mentioned on a recent VMware Communities Roundtable discussion might have a very BIG impact on the conference though. 

The Breakout sessions will not require advance registering.  In past VMworlds, attendees would have to register for sessions they wished to attend and would have priority over last minute ‘walk-ins’.  This seemed to create huge lines of people waiting to get into conference rooms while event coordinating staff furiously scanned badges to keep lines moving. 

In an effort to keep things running smoother this year, there will be no scanning badges or pre-registering requirements for the Breakout sessions.  VMware encourages you to still plan out your days activities using the Schedule Builder which will allow them to judge room capacity and demand and plan accordingly.

Personally, prior VMworlds have felt chaotic with the long lines and gave the sense to me that the planners were overwhelmed each year by the numbers of attendees.  I think this change will be welcomed by all attendees and event coordinators alike!

DO remember that all LABs must be pre-registered for though to reserve seating and resources.

ENJOY the VMworld Conference!