Things I would do if I was going to DLV 2015.

[Katie Wilson]

These are often poo pooed by people as useless and then regrettably left out of planning a trip to Vegas for DLV but I found that they are extremely helpful.

1). Store the local telephone number of Whitlesea cabs or more than 1 cab company in your cell phone.
**Reason being.= Cabs cannot stop for you by being waved down on the street in Las Vegas. It is illegal! They can only stop at a designated location. such as the one where you are or a hotel or residence etc'.

2 ). Store the **local number** of your Hotel / Casino in your phone also. This has been handy for me more than once for various reasons. You can do this prior to your vacation by looking for it on the Hotel web site.

3 ). You will have a handbag so why not utilize that space and **Carry a list of the DLV events and your planned side trips along with you so you can keep up with what may turn out to be a very busy week for you. Please remember if you have reserved a place in a limited event it is important to be there or at least let someone know if you can not. Others might be on a waiting list to do this and can be contacted by phone and they will be thrilled that you were courteous enough to phone and cancel.

4 ). If available keep one of the main DLV admins phone numbers in your cell storage area as you may need it if you have forgotten some of the above.

5 ). If you have rented a car and do not know Vegas very well then pick up a mini map of LV from the rental agency desk. ( They have heaps of these ).

6 ). Very Important.. Keep change in your purse at all times. $5's. $10's and especially a whole heap of single dollar bills. These will be handy for tips and the exact change for a cab ride + tip of course. Especially if the driver gets out and opens the door for you. **Wink**. Every Casino has change machines throughout their properties so make a point of changing $100's into $20's..and $20's into heaps of singles and plenty of fives at the beginning of the day or at the end of the previous one. You would be surprised at how quickly you run out of these in L V.

7 ). If you arrive early in the day and are too early to check in then leave your bags at the bell desk. They will store them in a safe room for you for a small tip * ..$2:00 or something like that will do. This will enable you to check in pre 4PM and hence have them give you a call when your room is ready, and the added bonus of not having to lug your bags around all day in the trunk of your rental car.

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8 ). Go to Katie's Koffee Korner and meet the lovely and talented Katie and Beverly.. **Nudge. Nudge**.

If anyone else has ideas to make someones DLV stay a memorable one please add to this list.

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Delaney
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Excellent list, Katie. In addition, I always carry two room keys - I've
managed to demagnetize them more than once.


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(This posting was entered by Delaney, an external user of MyDLV.)

[Katie Wilson]

Good one Delaney!

When I was crispy brand new to going out and at my second DLV I was staying at The old San Remo and on returning to my room at 2 Am the key would not work so I had to go to the desk clerk to get another one. That was scary enough for me but the funny part was that the second key did not work either so back to the desk once more and then a maintenance guy had to meet me at my room and let me in! *lol*.. Funny when you look back on it but no fun at all when it happened.

Thank's Delaney.

[annie]

> I always carry two room keys - I've managed to demagnetize them more than once.

LOL, I've just kind of accepted the fact that every few years I will lose/damage/lock in room/whatever a room key and will have to go to the desk and beg for another! Let me just add that if you go down the hall for soda or ice or something, late at night, and you're haphazardly dressed, with no ID, just be sure you take your ROOM KEY with you and not your players card!

I might add a few thoughts to this thread, from years of observation on things that happen to prevent enjoying DLV is much as it should be enjoyed.

One is not having enough information to participate. You'll really need to have a schedule at minimum, with the locations and times. A couple of years ago we had someone arrive in LV without enough information to make contact with the group. Be sure you have the DLV contact phone numbers with you.

Another is kind of a general case of not doing something (like a DLV activity) unless somebody else is doing it. Couples and groups of friends frequently will not do activities unless everyone in the couple/group wants to do them. Please don't be chained to your partner or group and what they do and do not want to do!

One more is under-estimating the real-world "get ready and get there" time for various activities. In Las Vegas it seems to take much longer than you would think to do such things as go back to the room for "just a minute", waiting for elevators, waiting on line for a taxi, finding a parking place, even simple things like going up to the bar for a drink.

Also, if something is wrong, let somebody know about it when there is still time to do something about it! In the Final Attendee Information there's a whole page on what to do if various thing are wrong, all kinds of things from arriving somewhere and not finding the group, to what to do if a roommate fails to show, to how to handle unwanted photographing and many more items.

I'm sure I'm missing a number of similar items, but please, everyone, be prepared!

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Delaney
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I thought I was the only one who did that !

It wasn't at Diva, but I was in a very crowded NYC hotel, and locked
myself out of the room (getting ice, which was right around the corner)
while half made-up. It was a fun trip to the lobby :-)


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(This posting was entered by Delaney, an external user of MyDLV.)

[annie]

> It wasn't at Diva, but I was in a very crowded NYC hotel, and
> locked myself out of the room (getting ice,

A cow-orker of mine makes it a practice to hide a spare key in the hallway or lobby. He just said he recently taped one to the back of a framed picture in the hallway.

[External Poster]

This posting is from: cassandra
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Ha Ha Ha...oh god...I remember one of my first times... I checked into
the hotel in guy mode. Got dressed...stepped outside for a second and
accidentally locked my key inside. Went to the front desk and asked the
girl for another key and she said "I cant give you a key to that
room cause I just checked a man into it ;... I said, duh...I AM THAT MAN

Airfare to get there...$300
Hotel...$85.00
The look on her face when she handed me a new key, PRICELESS!!!


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(This posting was entered by cassandra, an external user of MyDLV.)

[Bev]

Great ideas! Thanks everyone. I think anyone who has traveled much has horror stories to share, and usually the room key situation has bitten us all.
I carry two room keys with me, one in my purse and one in a pocket if I have one. I have even left one in my car as a backup.
And Annie is so right about how everything takes longer then expected in Las Vegas. I don't know how many times I have thought I was leaving myself time to go back to the room to relax before my next activity only to find myself having to rush to make it some place. I HATE to be late to anything. So the idea of having to make someone wait for me is inconceivable to me. So if you show up late sometime some place that I am waiting for you, like a ride to an activity or a meal, you can bet that I am fuming about it the whole time I am waiting. "Fashionably late" does not exist in my vocabulary.
And one last thing to add... DLV is planned and executed my real people, and thus is subject to things not going perfect all of the time. So come to DLV expecting to have fun but being understanding if everything isn't perfect or how you expected it to be. Just go with the flow and enjoy the experience.

[Katie Wilson]

Another thing that comes in handy is..
Put a good pen in your handbag and if you have business cards set one aside in a pocket in the front of your bag to write down locations in a parking lot.
Sounds dumb doesn't it? ....Not so!
You will be using various hotel and Casino parking structures and lots during your stay in LV and the numbers and levels become a bit hazy in the mind after using 5 of them in the first 2 days. So **Write it down Girls!
There is no shame in forgetting where you parked. The shame comes when you forgot to write down where it is and have to walk around pressing the *open door* button then finally exhausting this avenue, having to ask the parking attendant to drive you round to find a car which is not familiar to you. I am sure you will remember the color and make of the car though. Right? *huge lol*
I have only done this once and between Gabi and me we found my car >> **exactly where I left it would you believe? But I did see an old couple being driven around in the parking attendants golf cart to find their car last year.

No one need know that you had to write the location down. Unless you tell us the very next morning at Katies Koffe Korner!.... *Wink*

[annie]

> There is no shame in forgetting where you parked.

LOL! Been there, done that. {blush}

I can usually return to my vehicle with homing-pigeon accuracy. However, during one DLV at the Sahara (back when I used to rent a car for DLV) I could not find the thing, anywhere! As I was wandering about the structure, a bike officer came up to me and asked if I needed assistance. The conversation went kinda like this:

He: Can I help you with something?
Me: Uh, I can't find my car.
He: What color was it?
Me: Uh, white, I think.
(Turns to observe rows and rows of nondescript white cars)
He: What make/model is it?
Me: {blush} I don't know, it's a rental. Ford, maybe?
He: Do you have the keys?
Me: (Takes out keys, notices "Ford" logo.)
He: (Takes keys, holds way above head, pushes button.)
*beep* (Sound of muffled horn one or more levels up.)

What I'm in the habit of doing now when I rent a car is to pull out the phone and take a few happy-snaps of the vehicle including the make/model and the license plate.