Sessions begin on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. for both adults and children. This includes a First Timers Welcome and Orientation (for 18 and older; kids have orientation in their age groups) first thing. Most participants arrive by Tuesday and spend the day getting settled in, retrieving registration materials and t-shirts, and meeting other FFLs by the pool or at the refreshment venues. Tuesday is also a good day to take the Disney bus transportation over to Disney Springs and enjoy the shops, restaurants, and impromptu entertainment. Note that many families who plan to visit the nearby theme parks arrive over the weekend and spend a couple of days ‘doing the parks’ before the conference begins. For more details, see the current schedule.
Yes! We will have a banquet this year in the Coronado ballroom, complete with great food buffets, a short program, dancing with our favorite DJ Miles, and—of course—Disney characters! This year we will be going back in time! Dressing to the theme is not required, but if you choose to do so, think dinosaurs, exploration, and paleontology.
Yes! We will have an amazing exhibit hall with booths for our sponsors and exhibitors. We will also be taking applications for new exhibitors while space lasts.
We are currently busy planning all of the social activities for this year! Social events may include your usual favorites: Family Movie Night, Teen Dance, the Family and Friends Banquet, Dessert and Posters with the Faculty, T1D Adult Friday Social, and Family Fun Night (Carnival). We will also have many meet-ups…more info to come!
Teen Friday offsite is an opportunity for your teen to practice what they’ve learned on Wednesday and Thursday at Friends for Life. The ‘green bracelets’ practice independence with their diabetes management, and the ‘orange bracelets’ practice supporting their friends and family members. Sometimes we take the teens to a theme park. Sometimes a water park. Sometimes another activity at Disney Springs. We provide entrance tickets and lunch money. Our teen staff, including the health care team, will be with them. Please note that this special day offsite is only for teens who have participated all day on Wednesday and Thursday, and the outing is just for teens (no parents or other age groups are allowed to accompany). Location for Teen Friday will be announced in Spring 2024.
You may stay wherever you’d like to stay. In past years, over 95% of FFL participants have stayed on site. Parking at Coronado is free for those within our room block. If you reserve a room outside the room block, there is a per day fee for parking.
Yes! The Friends for Life Orlando scholarship program helps to make the 2024 conference an unforgettable experience for families and young adults dealing with type 1 diabetes. Our scholarship program is designed for first-time attendees who might otherwise be unable to afford to attend the conference. Applications are open all applicants will be notified of their status by late April. Scholarship applications for 2024 are now closed.
Register online at ffl.is/RegisterForOrlando. You may reserve a room online at ffl.is/OrlandoHotel.
Yes! FFL Orlando 2024 registration is $300 per attendee, regardless of age group. Children with Diabetes actually needs to find an additional $400 per person to cover the cost of our event, which we do through our generous sponsors and donors. In past years, some programs may have cost less than others; however, this pricing is based on CWD's cost to run each youth program.
Please note that registration will increase to $350 after June 7, 2024.
We will have organized youth programming all day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Yes. As with past Friends for Life® conferences, we take great care in trying to accommodate the special dietary needs of our conference participants. Please note that all food served at our conference will have portion size and carb counts available. If you need special dietary accommodations, there is a place on the registration form for you to note that. Note that you must alert us to allergies prior to the conference in order for us to ensure meals and snacks that work for you. Please note that all meals and snacks at FFL are nut-free. We do offer gluten free buffets for every meal and snack break. You must indicate on your registration form that you require gluten free meals. That helps us get the numbers right.
Friends for Life® is for your entire family. Kids who don't have diabetes, whether they have a sibling or parent with type 1, participate in their age group sessions. There's much to learn and share for them too.
Orlando in July is hot and humid. Dress comfortably. For most people, this means short pants and a t-shirt or collared golf shirt. Also, it rains almost every day in Orlando in July. Plan accordingly. Most people bring one or two nice outfits for evening social events. The youth program includes sessions which can be quite active. Please make sure your kids wear appropriate shoes for these activities.
Each year at Friends for Life, we rely on the help of about 200 volunteers. A Volunteer Application is available online from September 1 through December 31, 2023. If we find there is a need for additional volunteers as we get closer to the conference, we will send an email to those registered for the conference to see if anyone is interested in helping out this year. We recommend anyone interested in volunteering at FFL first attend the conference to experience FFL as an attendee. Volunteer applications for FFL Orlando 2024 are now closed.
Children with Diabetes encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. Our youth programming staff are primarily college-aged students who have experience with type 1 diabetes. They are not trained to work with children who have disabilities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us via email at [email protected] in advance of your participation or visit to ensure that you or your child will be able participate.
Yes. Children with Diabetes supports our "Type Au-Some" families with special sensory bags that are age appropriate. Bags can be checked out from our registration areas and can be used during the conference to help ease times of sensory overload. We will also have a designated quiet area where families can visit during the conference if you need to take a break. Sensory bags will include sterilized noise canceling ear muffs, fidgets and puzzles, and a variety of other small items that can help to redirect individuals. Please contact us via email at [email protected] for more information about potential accommodations for those with autism or neurodiversity or to learn more about our sensory bags.
We must be very strict about kids staying within their particular age groups. This year we will have Kiddie Kove (ages 0-5), elementary group (ages 6-8), a young tween group (ages 9-10), and older tween group (ages 11-12), a young teen group (ages 13-15) an older teen group (ages 16-17). Those who are 18 are part of the young adult group, not teens. Any attempt to falsify age on your conference registration to place your child into another age group may result in the cancellation of your registration without refund.
This is a special event just for the teens. Note that teens must participate in all four sessions on both Wednesday and Thursday in order to participate in the off-site event on Friday. If your teen is scheduled for a Retinal Screening during one of the sessions, please make sure to alert the Teen Program leader beforehand.
The Youth Program schedule will be online later this spring. The program runs from 9 a.m. on Wednesday to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, with four sessions per day. To learn more about the youth program at FFL Orlando, please read the welcome letters from our youth program leaders, which will be posted by June 1:
- Kiddie Kove Parent Letter (ages infant to 5 years)
- Elementary Parent Letter (ages 6-8)
- Tween Parent Letter (ages 9-12)
- Teen Parent Letter (ages 13-17)
Unless otherwise noted, they may, although we strongly encourage kids to be in their age-appropriate sessions. The material presented in adult sessions is on an adult level. Often, some of these same topics are discussed with the children within the context of some of their other learning activities - and the material is at an age-appropriate level for their group. Be aware that some adult and parent sessions include topics that are not appropriate for kids, and kids will not be permitted in those sessions. Also note that teens must attend their teen sessions to be permitted to join in the offsite activity on Friday and attend the Teen social event on Saturday. Note that some sessions are for adults only and the room captain will not allow children into those sessions.
See our page about Traveling with Diabetes for suggestions.
All of the sessions and all of the meals are held right on site. Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is a large resort with a big convention center attached. For conference meals, there will be indoor seating in the Coronado Ballrooms as well as several designated areas for outdoor seating in the Porte-Cochere areas outside the Coronado Ballroom and the Veracruz Ballroom.
No. However, if a child is participating in the conference, a parent or guardian must be registered and participating as well. People who are staying at Disney’s Coronado Springs but have not registered for the in-person conference will not have access to sessions, meals, the convention center, the exhibition hall, or social activities.
We respectfully request only those who plan to attend the entire conference register for Friends for Life Orlando. We are not able to offer decreased registration fees for those who cannot attend the entire event
There are usually hundreds of FFL participants at the hotel from Sunday on. CWD families are pretty easy to recognize pool-side: we're the ones with the diabetes t-shirts, the glucose tabs and juice sitting out, the diabetes technology on the pool chairs, and pumps and CGMs everywhere! Also, there is a Facebook group – Friends for Life Orlando - for anyone participating in the conference. You may post to that anytime. You might ask, for instance, if other families with a 7 year old would like to go to a theme park with you on Monday. Or if anyone with preschoolers would like to meet at the kiddie pool at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Social media is a great way to connect with others who might be on site!
Park tickets are not included in your registration or hotel cost, however, we do partner with Walt Disney World and Universal Studios to offer discounted park tickets for conference attendees. You can purchase Disney tickets at ffl.is/OrlandoHotel and Universal Studios tickets at ffl.is/Universal2024. Note that Friends for Life Orlando is a very busy event. It is not likely that you will find time during the conference to visit theme parks. Should you choose to purchase park tickets, we recommend adding days at the beginning or end of your stay so that you do not miss any of the fun that Friends for Life Orlando has to offer.
As of May 20, 2024, Walt Disney World has changed its DAS (Disability Access Service) through its accessibility and guests with disabilities program. Children with Diabetes does not have any additional information on disability access services at Walt Disney World or Disneyland other than what has been provided directly by Disney. Children with Diabetes hosts Friends for Life Orlando at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort but does not use the parks or Disability Access Service in its programming. For more information about disability services at Disney Parks and Resorts, please visit Disney’s Accessibility website at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/guests-with-disabilities/.
Yes, we have a private Facebook Group: ffl.is/OnFacebook. You must answer several questions to be allowed to join the group. If you are having problems joining, please email [email protected] for assistance.
Focus groups are offered on Wednesday only. These are small group discussions or presentations, hosted by the sponsors of the conference or an academic institution. It is their opportunity to interact with you on a more personal level, to get your ideas and insights, present some of their new concepts, and perhaps get your feedback on new products they are developing. The groups are small - some have only a few people and others have up to 40. But they are not large like the regular conference sessions on Thursday or Friday which may have several hundred people in each. You do not need to sign up for focus groups unless specifically requested by the company leading the session.
No, you do not sign up for the Thursday and Friday sessions. Just go to them. Please be on time, as the seats do fill up.
Sports Central is a ballroom in the convention center equipped with all kinds of sports equipment: basketball hoops, soccer nets, mats, volleyball courts. The space is used by the youth program for specific sessions on Weds-Friday, and also there are open gym hours when anyone can come play drop-in sports. Sports Central is staffed by CWD volunteers who are athletes, as well as HCPs who can assist as needed.
CWD is unable to provide any assistance with obtaining a visa. Visitors from outside the US are encouraged to submit a visa application well in advance of their anticipated travel date. Note that you will also need to make your own hotel reservations using a credit card. CWD cannot help with that either.
CWD receives hundreds of requests from organizations such as yours. The only companies and organizations which are allowed to hand out literature and demonstrate their products at CWD conferences are the ones who are in the Exhibit Hall. There are a number of lower-cost exhibitor tables in the exhibit hall that are specifically reserved for smaller organizations.
We offer a limited number of rooms that sleep up to 5 at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside. We do not offer transportation between the venues. Another alternative is reserving two rooms at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. For more information, please email [email protected].
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 hotel room and flights have been arranged at mearsconnect.com. Please know that Mears Connect is the replacement service for Disney’s Magical Express, which ended on 12/31/21. Through the Mears Connect service you are responsible for picking up your luggage, bringing it to the bus, and retrieving it from the bus when you arrive at the hotel.
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
- Thursday breakfast, lunch, and snack breaks
- Thursday Family and Friends Banquet with dinner – FFL is going back in time!
- Friday lunch and snack breaks
- Friday Off-Site Day for teens
- Saturday events
- Sunday Farewell Breakfast
- All of the various receptions/socials
- One t-shirt per registered person
- Additional events and meals may be added as we finalize details
The staff at FFL is well aware of the positive impact that Diabetes Alert Dogs (DADs) can have on children and adults who live with type 1 diabetes. While we do not want to disturb these relationships, we want to ensure that the presence of DADs do not interfere with the positive experiences of all our attendees. While DADs are welcome, we discourage conference participants from bringing their DADs to FFL. We have learned from past experience that DADs have a tendency to become overwhelmed and stressed by being in a closed environment for several days with hundreds of individuals who have type 1 and type 2 diabetes. We have seen DADs become overly aggressive and exhibit signs of anxiety because of their situation at FFL. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, we will ask that a DAD be removed from FFL if the DAD exhibits any unacceptable behavior that is disruptive to conference attendees.
Yes! We do. Social stories are coming soon. Check back for social stories for each youth programming area and also for adults. In the meantime, reach out to us at accommodations@
