I am excited to announce that registration for the 2022 Florida MegaMini being held from March 31st to April 3rd is now open on our website – FloridaMegaMini.com. This year’s event is being held at the Embassy Suites – Lake Buena Vista South (there are four Embassy Suites in the area so please note it’s the South location). The hotel offers all-suite rooms, complimentary made-to-order breakfast, and complimentary evening reception (alcohol and hors d'oeuvres). The hotel is located approximately three miles from the Main Gate of Walt Disney World Orlando and conveniently located to all local attractions. The conference center is attached to the hotel and we have reserved more than triple the space we had last year. The discounted group rate is $159/per night and no resort fee, which is approximately $80 off prevailing market rates. The venue can be viewed here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi4sRHZkyc4 See the FMM website for the registration link.
This year the FMM will offer on Thursday and Friday a 2-day xLights Immersive Hands-On Training, taught by Ron Howard of xTreme Sequences, a 2-day Light-O-Rama Intensive taught by Drew Hickman of Holiday Technologies, and on Friday a 1-day Projection Mapping 101, by Wesley Martinez of Festive FX and a 1-day Sequence like the Pros in xLights, taught by Barry Wiles of Sequence Solutions, Michael Stoffregen of Showstopper Sequences and Tom BetGeorge of Magical Light Shows. Classed are capped to maximize the user experience with minimum required sign-ups. See the FMM website for intensive content.
The conference will begin on Saturday, April 2nd with the opening session starting at 8:30 am and ending on Sunday at 5:00 pm (schedule to be released soon). The conference includes five simultaneous classrooms, beginner hands-on classes, build parties, vendor room, and demonstrations. This year there is an optional dinner on Saturday night with a keynote address by famed lighter Richard Holdman (featured here in Time Magazine - https://time.com/4597671/christmas-lights-shows-displays-homeowners/ ) followed by numerous demonstrations including fireworks, moving heads, water cannons, etc.
The build parties are still in development, however, items under consideration are a controller build, P5s, Top Hats, Rocking Tombstones, push-button speaker system, push-button wings, and waving snowman. See FMM website for information on pricing as there is a separate cost. Classes taught will include a wide range of display-related topics and are influenced by the input from the registration survey. Please include your suggestion(s) in the registration form.
The build parties are still in development, however, items under consideration are a controller build, P5s, Top Hats, Rocking Tombstones, push-button speaker system, push-button wings, and waving snowman. See FMM website for information on pricing as there is a separate cost.
With a new first-class venue this year we will have a dedicated vendor room that will equal the total event space we had last year. Vendors who have already reserved spots include Light-O-Rama, Boscoyo Studios, Gilbert Engineering, EFL, Wired Watts, Wally’s Lights, xTreme Sequences, Jingle Bumpers, Showstopper Sequences, and Experience Lights.
In a few days, vendor sponsor information will be released to all registered attendees which will include discount codes and free shipping to the MegaMini with pickup on Saturday (April 2nd) by many vendors. This benefit alone will most likely cover the cost of attendance and generally reflects an additional 22% discount than the standard 10% usually offered on sales. Additionally, coro items are not slit as they are shipped in bulk to the event providing for a more sturdy prop and the ability to order larger props than typical. More information will be announced soon in the FB group.
The early bird price for the conference is $140 for those who register by January 31s. which includes all classes and demonstrations with free lunch on Saturday and Sunday. The price will increase to $175 thereafter. A limited number of one-day passes are available at $80, increasing to $100 after January 31st.
More information will be forthcoming as things are finalized. You should continue to monitor our website – FloridaMegaMini.com for more information or join the Extreme Lighting Fanatics of Florida Facebook group which has an events tab that has all the announcements as they occur.
On Friday night we will be having a meet-n-greet reception from 5:30 to 7:00. During this time, we are contemplating having a spouses and children reception for them to meet each other. This will be followed by dinner at Food Truck World from 7:00 to 9:00, which has numerous food options and low wait times and allows everyone to get what style of food they want to eat and not have to wait two hours to be served in a normal group dinner.
We recognize that a number of attendees will be bringing their families and we want them to also have an awesome FMM experience. We created a Facebook group called Families of 2022 Florida MegaMini which will be led by Taryne Bigda and honorary Florida resident Cathy McFarland. In that group, spouses can share tips on local theme parks/venues and coordinate possible playdates at the park while their spouse is away at the conference. Please ask your spouse to join.
Why is it a "Mega" Mini? - "Mini" conferences were organized across the country in response to the national Christmas conference set up by Chuck Smith of PlanetChristmas Light Up Symposium (PLUS). Florida started its "mini" in 2004 and was elevated to "mega" status due to its broader appeal regionally and now nationally. Last year the MegaMini had over 230 attendees from 21 different states. The FMM differs from other national conferences in that we focus on the residential hobbyist experience.
There is a gallery area on our website with a number of pictures from last year’s event if you’re interested in seeing what we offer. This year we’ve increased the space available (3x), increased the class offerings, increased the build options, increase the number of demonstrations, increased the number of vendors, and increased the social opportunities. I look forward to seeing you there.
This year the FMM will offer on Thursday and Friday a 2-day xLights Immersive Hands-On Training, taught by Ron Howard of xTreme Sequences, a 2-day Light-O-Rama Intensive taught by Drew Hickman of Holiday Technologies, and on Friday a 1-day Projection Mapping 101, by Wesley Martinez of Festive FX and a 1-day Sequence like the Pros in xLights, taught by Barry Wiles of Sequence Solutions, Michael Stoffregen of Showstopper Sequences and Tom BetGeorge of Magical Light Shows. Classed are capped to maximize the user experience with minimum required sign-ups. See the FMM website for intensive content.
The conference will begin on Saturday, April 2nd with the opening session starting at 8:30 am and ending on Sunday at 5:00 pm (schedule to be released soon). The conference includes five simultaneous classrooms, beginner hands-on classes, build parties, vendor room, and demonstrations. This year there is an optional dinner on Saturday night with a keynote address by famed lighter Richard Holdman (featured here in Time Magazine - https://time.com/4597671/christmas-lights-shows-displays-homeowners/ ) followed by numerous demonstrations including fireworks, moving heads, water cannons, etc.
The build parties are still in development, however, items under consideration are a controller build, P5s, Top Hats, Rocking Tombstones, push-button speaker system, push-button wings, and waving snowman. See FMM website for information on pricing as there is a separate cost. Classes taught will include a wide range of display-related topics and are influenced by the input from the registration survey. Please include your suggestion(s) in the registration form.
The build parties are still in development, however, items under consideration are a controller build, P5s, Top Hats, Rocking Tombstones, push-button speaker system, push-button wings, and waving snowman. See FMM website for information on pricing as there is a separate cost.
With a new first-class venue this year we will have a dedicated vendor room that will equal the total event space we had last year. Vendors who have already reserved spots include Light-O-Rama, Boscoyo Studios, Gilbert Engineering, EFL, Wired Watts, Wally’s Lights, xTreme Sequences, Jingle Bumpers, Showstopper Sequences, and Experience Lights.
In a few days, vendor sponsor information will be released to all registered attendees which will include discount codes and free shipping to the MegaMini with pickup on Saturday (April 2nd) by many vendors. This benefit alone will most likely cover the cost of attendance and generally reflects an additional 22% discount than the standard 10% usually offered on sales. Additionally, coro items are not slit as they are shipped in bulk to the event providing for a more sturdy prop and the ability to order larger props than typical. More information will be announced soon in the FB group.
The early bird price for the conference is $140 for those who register by January 31s. which includes all classes and demonstrations with free lunch on Saturday and Sunday. The price will increase to $175 thereafter. A limited number of one-day passes are available at $80, increasing to $100 after January 31st.
More information will be forthcoming as things are finalized. You should continue to monitor our website – FloridaMegaMini.com for more information or join the Extreme Lighting Fanatics of Florida Facebook group which has an events tab that has all the announcements as they occur.
On Friday night we will be having a meet-n-greet reception from 5:30 to 7:00. During this time, we are contemplating having a spouses and children reception for them to meet each other. This will be followed by dinner at Food Truck World from 7:00 to 9:00, which has numerous food options and low wait times and allows everyone to get what style of food they want to eat and not have to wait two hours to be served in a normal group dinner.
We recognize that a number of attendees will be bringing their families and we want them to also have an awesome FMM experience. We created a Facebook group called Families of 2022 Florida MegaMini which will be led by Taryne Bigda and honorary Florida resident Cathy McFarland. In that group, spouses can share tips on local theme parks/venues and coordinate possible playdates at the park while their spouse is away at the conference. Please ask your spouse to join.
Why is it a "Mega" Mini? - "Mini" conferences were organized across the country in response to the national Christmas conference set up by Chuck Smith of PlanetChristmas Light Up Symposium (PLUS). Florida started its "mini" in 2004 and was elevated to "mega" status due to its broader appeal regionally and now nationally. Last year the MegaMini had over 230 attendees from 21 different states. The FMM differs from other national conferences in that we focus on the residential hobbyist experience.
There is a gallery area on our website with a number of pictures from last year’s event if you’re interested in seeing what we offer. This year we’ve increased the space available (3x), increased the class offerings, increased the build options, increase the number of demonstrations, increased the number of vendors, and increased the social opportunities. I look forward to seeing you there.