The weekend in two nights
Doors open at 8:00 a.m. on 5 and 6 December at Hall D of the Oregon Convention Center. Two mornings at one door time set the stay. Friday 4 December and Saturday 5 December go in a bed, and Sunday 6 December is the checkout day. The venue's structured record dates the event from 5 December at 08:00 to 6 December at 20:00.
The venue page states that registration is required and that children under five are free. Its contact line is 800-462-8294.
A family that flies home on Sunday evening skips a third night in the room, and the 20:00 finish leaves the evening open for the trip to the airport.
Friday: the airport run on MAX
The venue sits eight miles from Portland International Airport. The venue publishes MAX light rail at 300 stops a day near its front door, with service to the airport, downtown, the surrounding neighbourhoods and the Oregon Zoo. A family landing on Friday rides the train in and leaves the rental counter at the airport.
Book the first two nights on the Holladay corridor. The Inn at the Convention Center at 420 NE Holladay sits 225 m from the venue, and the Hyatt Regency at 375 NE Holladay sits 242 m out. Both figures are straight-line distances from the venue's published address.
Saturday: a 7:30 a.m. lobby call
A 225 m walk takes about three minutes at an easy pace with a uniform bag. A family on the Holladay corridor leaves the lobby at 7:30 a.m. and reaches the door ahead of the 8 o'clock call. Guests further out use Portland Streetcar's A Loop, which calls at NE MLK and Hoyt every 15 minutes, or TriMet bus 6, which stops at NE MLK and Holladay.
Anyone driving wants the garage before 7 a.m. It opens at 6:00 a.m., holds 800 spaces, and spaces go first come, first served. Daytime parking costs $15 up to 18 hours, event entry runs a dynamic $15 to $25, and neither comes with in-and-out privileges. The garage takes no overnight car.
Sunday: check out, then store the bags
Sunday carries the same 8:00 a.m. door, and the checkout clock comes first. LocketGo lockers solve the gap. They sit in the MLK Lobby near the main entrance, the Holladay Lobby at the north end of the building and the Ginkoberry Concourse at the south end. The venue describes them as salmon-coloured and reservable on a mobile device with a credit card.
A locker booking runs on a card, so a cash-only guest cannot reserve one. The venue's route for cash is the reverse ATM down the short hallway to the left of the welcome desk in the MLK Lobby. It loads $1 to $500 onto a Visa card in a single load, charges no fee and allows no reload.
The venue is cashless. Its food and beverage outlets, the garage and the lockers all take a card or a touchless payment.
The plan, hour by hour
Friday afternoon: land at PDX, ride MAX into the convention district, check in within walking range, and eat dinner downtown. Friday evening: pack the competition bag, confirm the call time with the coach, and sleep.
Saturday 7:30 a.m.: walk to Hall D. Midday: lunch from the venue's food and beverage outlets on a card. Saturday evening: back to the property with the second morning still ahead.
Sunday 7:30 a.m.: check out, store the bags at the nearest LocketGo bank, compete, and collect the bags after the finish. The structured record closes the event at 20:00, so an evening flight out of PDX is the workable one. A Sunday night in the room is optional.