How to re:Invent, Episode 2 - Session Planning
In the second episode, it's time to look at session planning. You will learn about session levels, session types, how to plan your day, and all the tricks I've learned over the years to ensure I have a great re:Invent. There will be a full episode later on reserved seating, but I will touch on the topic now because when planning, it's good to have that in mind.
To start it all, let's have a look at session levels and types and how to think about those, as this is the foundation for all future planning.
Session Levels
All sessions come with a set level, and there are five different levels: 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500. Going to a session on the wrong level, whether too easy or too hard, can ruin the entire experience. There are a few tricks I use when selecting the correct level; only targeting a certain level is a mistake in my opinion. Unfortunately, level mismatch happens, where a session is advertised as a 400 level but the presentation is still on a 200 level. This is very hard to know beforehand, but this is where speaker research comes in.
During re:Invent, I mainly focus on advanced sessions, 300 and above, but I do mix it up with a couple of 200-level sessions on topics that I'm not familiar with or customer presentations.
100 Foundational
These are the foundational level sessions. I normally never attend 100-level sessions, but that doesn't mean they are not right for you.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- New to AWS and new to the topic
200 Intermediate
These are intermediate-level sessions. I find that 200-level sessions can be interesting if it's for a topic that I don't know much about. Many customer presentations, where a customer talks about what they built and how, are often 200-level. Over the years, I have been listening to many customer stories about how they use AWS to solve their problems. I think it's always interesting to hear other people's stories and pain points.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- New to AWS and the topic
- New to AWS but familiar with the topic
- Familiar with AWS but new to the topic
300 Advanced
These are advanced-level sessions. These sessions are on a deeper level and assume that you have previous experience with AWS and the topic. If you are not familiar with the topic and AWS, you will probably not be able to keep up with the sessions.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- Familiar with AWS and the topic
400 Expert
These are the truly in-depth sessions. The presenter goes far into the topic and the details of AWS. These sessions assume that you not only have previous experience with AWS and the topic but also that you understand the details of services, features, and topics.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- Experienced in AWS and the topic
500 Distinguished
The 500 Distinguished level is the newest and most advanced tier. It's intended for expert AWS users with deep technical proficiency, and the sessions explore advanced research, theoretical foundations, and emerging technologies.
These sessions are a good fit if you are:
- An expert in AWS
- Want to examine experimental approaches
- Learning about emerging technologies and what’s next in cloud computing
These sessions are super advanced, and if you are not an expert in AWS, this level is probably not right for you.
Session Types
There are several different session types. Knowing the difference between them is key when planning your schedule.
Breakout Sessions
This is the most common type, a 1-hour lecture-style session. Most breakout sessions are recorded and published on YouTube. You might hear from other people that they don't focus on breakout sessions, as they are recorded and you can watch them later. Even if you can watch a session recording later, there is still something special about being in the room; nuances are lost in the recording. I can enjoy a 200-level breakout session on a topic that I don't know, or a 400-level that really gets into the details.
Chalk Talks
A smaller, highly interactive session. Chalk talks normally start with a short lecture but then open up for Q&A, discussions, and whiteboarding. Chalk talks are great, and I enjoy them; the room is often smaller, and seats fill up fast. However, the quality of these sessions very much depends on the audience, as most of the session is interactive. Unlike a breakout session, if the audience doesn't open up for discussion or ask questions on the wrong level, a chalk talk can quickly be ruined.
Code Talks
A smaller, highly interactive session just like Chalk talks, but with more focus on live coding and code samples. Just as with Chalk talks, the audience is encouraged to ask questions and follow along.
Lightning Talks
Short 20-minute talks that take place in the Expo Hall. These can be talks from the DEV track, delivered by the community, or partner demos and presentations. The DEV talks delivered by the community are great; partner talks and demos I don't get much value from.
Workshops
Interactive sessions where you work in small groups or alone to build a solution. Workshops can be a great way to test a new service or feature on a topic that you don't know. However, workshops quickly become a "copy & paste exercise" even on a 400-level. I have done my fair amount of workshops and still have not found one that I truly enjoyed. Note, you MUST bring your own laptop.
Builders’ Sessions
Just like workshops but in a shorter and smaller setup. Builders’ sessions focus more on experimenting than workshops, a good way to mix up your day. Note, you MUST bring your own laptop.
Keynotes
The keynotes are a big part of the week, and I would say you should catch at least one in person. You can live stream them or watch on YouTube later, but I enjoy being in the hall and getting the news firsthand. The full 2026 lineup hasn't been announced yet. As I write this, the only confirmed keynote is the CEO keynote, so I'll add the rest here once AWS shares them.
CEO Keynote with Matt Garman
AWS CEO Matt Garman takes the stage on Tuesday morning. He'll talk about new releases, customer stories, new experiences, and much more. This will be Matt's third keynote as CEO, and I have a feeling it'll be an interesting one.
re:Invent Campus
Before we get into planning, we must revisit the re:Invent Campus. The venues run from MGM Grand in the south up to Wynn and Encore in the north, with The Venetian, Caesars Forum, and Caesars Palace in the middle. It's still a great distance, the better part of an hour on foot from end to end, or 15 to 30 minutes by car depending on traffic.
Maps of the campus are available on the re:Invent webpage.
These distances are important, as they make it hard or impossible to change venues during the day. One switch might work, but not several. Therefore, aligning sessions to a specific venue per day is a good strategy.
Build Your Schedule (Plan Your Week)
Now, this is the most important part about re:Invent, and it can make or break your week. Building your schedule and planning your week is crucial. Trust me, you don't wing re:Invent. Your plan needs to be more than sessions; you need to include breaks, networking, evening activities, The Expo, The Hallway Track, and much more. I will try to give you some tips and tell you how I normally plan out my week. There is one crucial thing you need to know about sessions, so let's start with that.
Reserved Seating
Each session has a fixed number of reserved seats, around 75% or so. The possibility to reserve a seat in a session normally opens in early to mid-October. Therefore, it's crucial that you have your schedule ready by then. You will reserve your seat in the Event catalog, and you must be signed in to your re:Invent account. It normally opens up in the morning Seattle time. The most popular sessions become full in minutes—no joke, you need to be fast. Since sessions fill up fast, I normally recommend that you have one or two backup sessions if you don't get your first choice, just like in school. As mentioned before, there will be a full episode about reserved seating.
Hallway Track
You will probably hear about the hallway track, and I will mention it as well. This consists of those spontaneous meetings and people you run into in the hallway.
Start Your Session Planning
With over 2,200 sessions at your disposal, how do you even get started? AWS provides an official Event catalog, where you can mark sessions as favorites, filter, and search. It works, but it's not what I use.
Instead, I use an unofficial planner made by my fellow AWS Hero Raphael Manke. You will find it on https://reinvent-planner.cloud/. This planner comes packed with features that I use. The search and filtering are really good, and you can create multiple session lists. If you register and log in, these will sync across devices.
When I start planning my week, I normally create several different session lists; these are often based on topic or level. Then I start filtering for sessions on each topic, and sessions I find interesting I add to that draft list. When this round is done, I usually have around 100 sessions—way too many. So the next step is to start filtering and removing sessions. In the end, I like to target around 4 sessions every day. I would say if you like to stretch it, you can fit 5–6, but I would not recommend more than that.
Next, it's time to start building the schedule, and this has more parameters than only the favorite sessions. We need to consider location and transportation time. I would recommend that you pick your number one session each day and build your schedule around that. If that session is at MGM Grand, then stay at MGM the entire day. If you must switch venues, plan for transportation time, which can be everything from 30 minutes to beyond an hour. As always, there are exceptions to this rule... And that is if you move between Venetian and Caesars Forum or Venetian and Wynn/Encore, as there are connected walkways that are quick to use.
Caesars Palace is new for 2026 and it sits mid-Strip, so it's worth knowing how it connects to the rest. From the Venetian it's about a 15-minute walk down the Strip, but unlike the Caesars Forum link, there's no indoor shortcut—you're out on Las Vegas Boulevard for that one. From MGM Grand, it's a different story. That's close to a mile and a 25 to 30 minute walk once you account for getting out of MGM itself. So moving between MGM Grand and Caesars Palace in the same day is possible, but it's the longest hop on the campus and not something you want to do twice. If your day pairs those two, lean on the shuttle and pad your schedule, or better yet, build the day around just one of them.
Never ever book back-to-back sessions; there is no way you will make it. Maintain a minimum of 30 minutes between sessions in the same venue.
When you have your favorite session every day, it's all about adding sessions around that from your list. I personally add some backup sessions in case I don't manage to book all my first choices. In the end, you should have a schedule with your favorite sessions and time for breaks and food. This is important! You must have breaks and you must eat, so leave room for that. Don't pack the schedule. That's why I say around 4 sessions per day, maximum 5.
Last tip: pick up your badge already on Sunday so you are ready when it all starts Monday morning!
The Expo
The Expo is the main show floor, featuring hundreds of vendors, sponsors, and AWS teams showcasing what they've built. There's a lot down there, including product demos, the AWS Village where you can actually talk to AWS employees, and the Hero and Community Lounge. I mention it here because it's easy to treat the Expo as an afterthought and then never make it down. Don't. It deserves a real block of time, a few hours at least, so build it into your plan for the week instead of hoping to squeeze it between sessions. How to actually work the floor, and what to do about swag, is over in Episode 4.
Final Words
This was the second episode in "How to re:Invent." Stay tuned for more episodes on reserved seating, packing and survival, parties and rePlay, security now that re:Inforce joins re:Invent, and what to do when you get home.
See you all in Vegas! Send me a message on LinkedIn if you'd like to meet up!
Don't forget to follow me on LinkedIn and X for more content, and read the rest of my Blogs.
As Werner says! Now Go Build!