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"One of the most magical times for people with diabetes happens every year in July, with the annual Friends For Life® Conference hosted at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida."
Join us in Orlando!

Looking to connect in an atmosphere where people really understand you - come to Friends for Life, it'll be out of this world!

Whether you need to refuel your diabetes jet pack or simply want to moon walk around with your Fiffles, we look forward to seeing you from Tuesday, July 4, to Sunday, July 9, 2023!

In July 2023, Children with Diabetes will host our 24th annual Friends for Life conference, taking place in Orlando, Florida! Join our dedicated group of world-renowned faculty, adults, children, and families with diabetes—including siblings and children of adults with type 1 diabetes—for a great weekend of education and support. Attend educational sessions with cutting-edge diabetes management ideas. Participate in discussion groups, share your story, and help motivate and support others who walk in similar shoes. Watch kids and teens, college students and professionals, young parents and grandparents, new and practiced diabetes clinicians, all make new and lifelong friendships.

Have Questions? We Have Answers!

Do you have questions about the conference? Not sure how it works? Visit our Friends for Life Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.

Watch our Mission Control Q&A sessions about Friends for Life Orlando 2023 and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Mission Control Informational Q&A March 7

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Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Mission Control Informational Q&A June 6

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Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
PreFlightChecklist

Our Pre-flight Checklists will help you get the most out of your FFL Mission

If you've been to Disney World before, it might not look the same. Be sure to read these important messages from Disney. Note that Disney's guidelines and protocols change, so please keep up to date.

Disney's COVID
Protocols
Directions to set-up a My Disney Experience (MDX) Account
Know Before You Go:
Your Resort Hotel Stay
How to Make a Disney Park Pass Reservation
Friends for Life Ticket Store/Book a Room
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Register
Join Us

Register Now!

Speakers
Faculty, Staff, and Volunteers

Meet our faculty, volunteers, and staff

Schedule
Conference at a Glance

Learn the general flow of the conference, day by day

Photo Album
Photo Gallery

Check out the photo gallery from FFL Orlando 2022 for a glimpse at the conference

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Registering for the Conference

Every conference participant needs to register for the conference

Registration is $250 per person for ages 6 and older, $75 per person for ages 0-5.

We will host on-site registration, based on space availability, on a first-come, first-served basis. We do not offer one-day or partial registrations. Registration costs will increase to $300 for all attendees on July 1, 2023. 

*Registering for the hotel only registers you for a hotel room and registering for the conference only registers you for the conference itself.

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Registration includes:

All sessions and session materials for adults and children
Kiddie Kove for children ages  0-5
Wednesday Grand Opening of the Exhibition Hall (dessert reception)
Thursday breakfast, lunch, and snack breaks
Thursday Family and Friends Banquet (dinner)
Friday lunch and snack breaks
Friday Park Day at Typhoon Lagoon for teens
Saturday social events
Sunday Farewell Breakfast
All of the various social events
One t-shirt per registered person

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Cancellation Policy:  Cancellations prior to June 1, 2023 will be refunded minus a $25 per person processing fee. After June 1, 2023, no refunds are available.

CWD offers a limited number of scholarships to a limited number of applicants. Scholarships can cover the hotel room and registration for up to four people for the conference.

The scholarship application process has closed for Friends for Life Orlando 2023.

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FFL2018-Fellows

The FFL Fellows Program

The CWD Fellows Program offers endocrine Fellows, recent PhD graduates, and health care professionals with new CDCES credentials an opportunity to learn what life with type 1 diabetes is really like by joining us at Friends for Life Orlando.

Fellows participating in the Friends for Life Fellows Program will be exposed to real families living with type 1 diabetes throughout the course of their five or six days at Friends for Life Orlando. Friends for Life Orlando is the largest conference for families and people living with type 1 diabetes in the world. Typically, there are over 2,000 attendees on site in Orlando for Friends for Life. The attendance is usually split between about half adults with diabetes and half children with diabetes and their families.

They will have the opportunity to learn through hands-on experience with vendors, including having the chance to wear a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and an insulin pump or pod. Fellows will be able to present their research on the Friday Night Dessert with the Faculty to the families and other faculty present at Friends for Life. The fellows will be able to form relationships with each other, with the world-renowned faculty present at the conference, and the families throughout the conference.

Hotel Reservation Information

The room block for Friends for Life Orlando 2023 has now closed. If you wish to reserve a new room or edit your current reservation, please call 407-939-4686. Please know that any new or updated bookings are not guaranteed.


VERY IMPORTANT: Booking a room at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort does not mean that you are registered for the conference.

Reserve your room online at ffl.is/OrlandoHotel. You can also order discounted park tickets there.

A few things to note in regard to this online room registration process:

  • Disney’s Online booking site is available for booking, modifying and canceling reservations 24/7. Should you need assistance while booking your reservation, please contact Group Reservations by calling 407-939-4686 during business hours – Monday - Friday.
  • The dates offered on the site for room reservations are those dates that CWD has contracted. If you would like to book hotel nights before or after that, you will need to contact the Housing office to inquire about availability. The room rate is $189/night plus tax.
  • Please put the names and ages for any children in your group under the “other information” section of the guest information landing page.
  • Note that the cut off for reserving a room in the CWD room block is June 9, 2023. After that, the price of the room will go up.

For more conference information, including sponsorship and exhibitor information, contact Matt Point at [email protected].

Transportation From MCO to Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

Round-trip transportation from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is available to book through Mears Connect at $32 per adult and $27 per child. We encourage you to book your airport transportation, after your flight details have been arranged, at www.mearsconnect.com. Please know that Mears Connect is the replacement service for Disney's Magical Express, which ended on December 31, 2021.

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Exhibitor Application

The exhibit hall is sold out

Read reports from Orlando 2022 and Orlando 2021 to see what the in-person conference is all about

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Should I Attend?

"At this conference, dreams come true. It’s where, for one week out of the year, diabetes kids are the cool kids." - Alice Morgan

LeighFickling2019TR

"FFL is always important to everyone but now, even more than before, it’s “essential.” We need our community and we need normalcy. FFL in July is normalcy. We can’t let COVID take that from us, too. It may look different but it will still be the same for so many of us."

Leigh Fickling
CWD Mom
LeilaBlue2020TR

"FFL is the place where our T1D found his place. Where he stopped looking for people that GOT him and that understood him.  For our family, it has been like looking in the mirror and seeing a reflection of all that we fight for, believe in, love through and dream of. FFL is the rainbow that keeps our T1D family smiling through it all."

Leila Blue
CWD Mom
AmyBevan2015TR

"How can you not feel good about managing diabetes when you’re in that environment, soaking in the newest research, getting the chance to see cutting-edge technology up close, and connecting with new friends and old who just get it?"

Amy Beven
CWD Mom
I'm a T1 and a Friend for Life

" Sometimes, when days are kind of rough, I’ll put on a green bracelet to remind myself that I am not alone. "

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Is this just for children and their families?

In 2022, over 1,700 people came from 45 states and 12 countries, including 703 first-timers.

More than half of the people with diabetes were adults

Friends for Life® began when our amazing Laura Billetdeaux asked CWD families if they wanted to vacation together. That annual gathering turned into the conference it is today, and includes T1 adults, grandparents teens, tweens and toddlers, and siblings of people with diabetes.

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Families & Individuals

with type 1 diabetes including toddlers, tweens, teens and young adults, as well as siblings

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Adult Living with T1D

their partners and spouses, and their children and friends

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Siblings and Children

who, even though they don't have diabetes, they still live with diabetes

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Grandparents and Other Caregivers

who are supporting their family members with type 1 diabetes

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Health Care Professionals

who work with people living with type 1 diabetes (CEUs are not offered)

Why Friends for Life matters ...

"So many green bracelets symbolized those of us living with diabetes. Our loved ones wore orange. And everywhere I turned I didn’t feel the need to explain when I started to beep."  - Cara Richardson

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Conference Schedule at a Glance

Monday 7/3

MONDAY, JULY 3

Move-in day for Registration. Lots of families will be on site already. Wear an old Friends for Life t-shirt and find some FFL families at the Big Dig pool or enjoy a theme park! Retinal screening day for staff with T1.

Tuesday 7/4

TUESDAY, JULY 4

Registration is open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, so pick up your name badge, conference t-shirt, and green/orange bracelets nice and early! TrialNet screening begins. Pump Trials begin. It's very easy to find other FFLs – look for the bracelets and conference tees! Discussion groups and informal social get togethers will be held to help people meet each other. Enjoy the resort or a theme park with friends. Volunteer and faculty dinner and team-building event in the evening at Splitsville. 

Wednesday 7/5

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5

First Timers Orientation begins at 9 a.m. (this is for adults; children are invited to participate in their age group activities down the hall). Focus groups, discussion groups, and presentations will be held all day. Drop-In Youth Program activities for elementary age kids (6-8) and tweens (9-12) are offered in Fiesta 5 and Fiesta 6. Kiddie Kove for little ones ages 0-5 is in Coronado A-D. The Teen program is a full day of activities in Coronado L. Retinal Screening begins for conference attendees. TrialNet Screenings continue. Pump Trials continue. The Exhibit Hall opens at 7:00 p.m., in conjunction with a Grand Opening Dessert Reception.

Thursday 7/6

THURSDAY, JULY 6 - 9:00AM - 4:00PM

Sessions for adults and children begin at 9:00 am and run all day. Carb counted Opening Keynote Breakfast and lunch buffet will keep you well fed. Screenings and Pump Trials continue. The Exhibit Hall is open from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm. The Family and Friends Banquet begins at 6:30 with space theme.

Friday 7/7

FRIDAY, JULY 7

Sessions for adults and children all day. Teens head off-site for breakfast and a day at Typhoon Lagoon. Screenings continue. Pump Trials continue. The Exhibit Hall is open from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Family Movie Night begins at 7:00 pm. Adult social event begins at 8:00 pm. Dessert and Posters with the Faculty runs from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm. 

Saturday 7/8

SATURDAY, JULY 8

Enjoy a day at the resort or a theme park with your new Fiffles. Family Carnival Night: Veracruz Porte-Cochere and Veracruz ABC, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Join us for old-style carnival games, music, and delicious carnival snacks!

Sunday, 7/9

SUNDAY, JULY 9

Join us for the Farewell Breakfast with character meet-n-greets as we wind down Friends for Life Orlando 2023 and look forward to Friends for Life Orlando 2024.

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Wednesday's Focus Groups and Sessions

Wednesday is a special day at Friends for Life Orlando. You get a chance to participate in focus groups, where you can help shape the future of diabetes care products and services, as well as attend special product theaters and symposia. While many focus groups are open to anyone, the focus groups below require pre-registration. Be sure to sign up early - many fill up.