Monday, January 26

Informal Luncheon
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., Redondo/San Diego/Santa Monica Room
Included in the price of a FULL registration. See Registration Form for ticket prices for single day registrants, guests and spouses.)

e-Navigation Workshop
2:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Pacific Ballroom C
See session description for details.

Meet & Greet Social
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Redondo/San Diego/Santa Monica Room
This event is included with any type of registration. Spouses and traveling companions (21 and older) are welcome. A cash bar and light dinner will be available, dress for comfort.

Annual Awards Luncheon
12:00 p.m.– 2:00 p.m., Redondo/San Diego/Santa Monica (second floor)
The ION’s 2008 Annual Awards will be presented and 2009 ION Fellows will be named. (Included in the price of a FULL registration. See Registration Form for ticket prices for single day registrants and guests.)

All technical sessions will be held in the Paradise Pier Hotel's Pacific Ballroom.

Reservations. Make reservations by January 5 to receive the special ION negotiated rates of $163 single/double per night, plus a nightly resort fee of $12. You can make a reservation online or by calling 1-714-520-5005, or fax a reservation to 1-714-520-6011. Be sure to make your reservation by January 5 to receive the special ION rates listed below. Identify yourself as an ION meeting participant.

Government Reservations. A limited number of government rated rooms will be available at the 2009 federal per diem rate for to those U.S. government employees, traveling on government travel orders and paying for the room with a U.S. issued government credit card. Failure to pay for the room with a U.S. government issued credit card will result in your reservation being honored at the group rate. Government contractors not traveling with government travel orders are not eligible for this rate. Please note that a nightly resort fee* of $12 per night will be added to the per diem rate and should be reimbursable by your agency. * The nightly resort fee is a mandatory nightly charge that is charged directly to you at checkout and includes high speed internet in your guest room, overnight parking, fitness center use and free local telephone access.

Hotel Parking. If you are staying overnight at the Paradise Pier Hotel self-parking is included in your nightly resort fee. If you are driving in for the day you will be charged a discounted rate of $15 per day by showing your conference badge. Note that the parking charge is for a once in, once out and not for in/out privileges.

Make reservations by January 5 to receive special ION negotiated rates of $163 single/double per night!

Discounted theme park admission tickets are available for advance purchase on-line. at: http://www.disneyconventionear. com/InstituteofNavigation. Please note that specially priced tickets are valid January 22, 2009 to February 5, 2009 and the on-line ticket store will close at 9pm PST on 1/21/2009. Prepayment is required and tickets are nonrefundable.

Air Transportation
The Paradise Pier Hotel is approximately 16 miles from John Wayne International Airport (SNA) and 27 miles from Los Angles International Airport (LAX). On-way taxi fare to the Paradise Pier Hotel from SNA is approximately $42, and $91 from LAX.

Airport Shuttles
Airport shuttles can be found outside the baggage claim area of the airports. Direct shuttle service is available from Disneyland Express for $15 each way from SNA or $20 each was from LAX. Disneyland Express provides direct transport to and from the airport without multiple stops. SuperShuttle is also available for a rate of $10 each way from SNA or $16 each way from LAX but there is no guarantee as to the number of other hotel stops that will be made prior to arriving at Disney’s Paradise Pier. Tickets are purchased directly from the shuttle drivers and advance reservations are not required. Note: California law requires that children six years of age, or weighing less than 60 lbs., be in a child safety seat while in a vehicle at all times. Airport shuttles do not provide child seats and will refuse to offer service to passengers not able to comply with the state law.

Letter of Invitation requests.
Conference attendees requesting a visa letter to attend ITM must register and pay the registration fees BEFORE a letter of invitation will be sent. If the attendee is unable to secure a visa, he/she will need to apply for a refund according to the printed refund rules of the event. Exemptions to this policy apply only to authors whose papers have been accepted for presentation, company personnel working in the exhibit area, or trade associated press. Visa letter requests should be directed to membership@ion.org.

ION recommends that you apply for your visa at least two months in advance due to security related policies that have greatly increased the processing time for visa applications.

U.S. consular officers now interview most applicants as part of the application process. This can add additional time and delays. Currently there is a mandatory security check period of 30 days for people whose passports are issued from several countries, including China, North Korea, and most middle-eastern countries. Furthermore, the U.S. State Department requires citizens of many countries to obtain visas to attend any scientific program.

Travelers from ALL 27 Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries must present either a machine-readable passport or a U.S. visa.

To learn more about the Visa Waiver Program and machine readable passports, go to:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/
For general information about visas, go to:
http://www.nationalacademies.org/visas.