Imagine a whole week at the Friends for Life Conference, where every day was filled with amazing adventures and roaring fun!  People from all over the world, including 47 states and eight countries gathered in Orlando, Florida to learn about diabetes from some of the most world-renowned scientists, faculty members, and industry leaders at the 2024 Children with Diabetes Friends for Life Conference.  Are you ready to grab your refillable mug and your sunscreen? Let’s find a shady spot at the big pool and get ready to recap this dinotastic adventure!

RAWR! Friends for Life Orlando 2024 was a “Prehistoric Expedition to Diabetes Innovation” that sought to explore advances in science and diabetes technology.  Walking with dinosaurs and uncovering ancient diabetes relics, FFL attendees were prepared for a palaeontologic adventure like no other when they registered for this year’s conference.  We loved how everyone enjoyed the dinosaur theme and couldn’t believe how creative everyone was with incorporating dinosaurs into their week in Orlando.  From dinosaur t-shirts and diabetes bags, to giant dinosaurs that came to life in the exhibit hall, this was truly a roam with dinosaurs that we will never forget.

Are you ready for some numbers? Break out your reading glasses, dino friends! This year, we had over 1700 individuals attend the Friends for Life Conference in Orlando--775 of those individuals had some form of diabetes, including 547 of whom were using some form of continuous glucose monitor. Approximately 55% of the attendees were adults with diabetes.  Over 700 people were first-time attendees at the conference. Random fun fact: this year’s tween program was our largest tween program ever at an FFL conference! Put your tiny dino hand in the air and give a virtual high five for all of these amazing attendees.  What a great group of people who started off the week as strangers and ended the group as a family!

Our FFL Exhibit Hall was a sold-out experience and featured some of the world’s best booths and product displays from diabetes industry leaders and exhibitors.  Attendees had an opportunity to walk around and meet with vendors, exhibitors, sponsors, and Industry Advisory Board members.  They learned more about new innovations in diabetes technology, had an opportunity to try out demos, and met with representatives from different product lines.  The grand opening of the exhibit hall was a bustling hub of activity, always one of our favorite events of the week! The exhibit hall was also a place for networking and making new friends for life in a casual environment.  By the end of the week, many families were visiting the hotel business center so that they could ship home their swag items from the exhibit hall or purchasing a new suitcase so they could carry on a whole new bag full of fun items from the exhibit hall.  Thank you to our generous sponsors and exhibitors for joining us this year on this prehistoric adventure!

The FFL week would not be possible without the dedication of over 180 volunteers. Our volunteers began their days before the sun came up and ended their days long after the Florida sun went down each evening. They sat on the ground cutting animals out of construction paper and making friendship bracelets. They had quiet conversations in the back of the room with your children when they needed to take a break. They dried your tears during an adult session when the content became too personal and you just needed a hug. They helped when you’ve dropped a spoodle in the middle of the buffet line at lunch. They knew where to get extra sunscreen at Typhoon Lagoon during Teen park day. They could reprint your lost name badge and get you an extra yellow wristband when yours got icky. They were the heart and soul of Friends for Life and we could not do this without them. We are so thankful for their hard work and dedication and wish to thank them across the prehistoric ages to the present day for an amazing week! Thank you for bringing our vision to life and for making this the best conference ever.

Adult programming featured faculty members from some of the world’s top academic medical centers and universities.  Sessions were carefully curated to meet the needs of a wide variety of audiences and to ensure that the focus was science-based.  There were sessions for parents, grandparents, young adults, adults living with type one, and everything in between.  In addition to traditional educational sessions, there were a wide variety of informal meetups throughout the week where attendees could gather informally with like-minded people for a snack or a beverage break to continue the conversation in a more informal setting.

Our FFL evenings were filled with dancing, singing, and memory-making from the beginning of the week to the end.  We started our week on Tuesday evening with an amazing firework extravaganza at Epcot for our volunteer appreciation event. Next, we opened our Exhibit Hall with a gigantic running RAWR!  On Thursday, we danced the night away at our annual Friends for Life Banquet.  On Friday, we snuggled up at Family Movie Night and watched The Good Dinosaur and then learned more about diabetes science and research at Dessert and Posters with the Faculty. Later, the Adults with Type 1 had a laughter-filled karaoke party that closed down the night.  On Saturday, we had a giant walking dinosaur join us for Family Fun night who danced along with the thump thump thump of the DJ.  Finally, on Saturday, the teens closed down the evening with their own Teen Social complete with a DJ in the back of a Hummer!

The FFL week concluded with a fun event on Saturday that focused on moving our bodies and not letting diabetes stop us from reaching our dreams.  Many families and attendees spent the day lounging in the pools and gathering for meals together before heading to the Saturday night activities.  On Sunday, we shared our final meal together at our annual Farewell Breakfast.  This event is one of the highlights of the week as we enjoy one final goodbye and have an opportunity to take pictures with Disney characters in a relaxed environment with our new best Friends for Life.

Pictures from the week are now available in our photo albums located at ffl.is/Orlando2024Photos. You can learn more about our future conferences by visiting childrenwithdiabetes.com/conferences/future-friends-for-life-conferences/.  Information about FFL Orlando 2025 will be coming in the late fall.  Thank you all for joining us on this epic adventure.  It’s been one of the highlights of our year and was truly one for the memory books!