Accessibility at WordCamp US

We are so excited to see you soon for WordCamp US (WCUS) and WordPress Community Summit. The organizing team is working hard to make it as comfortable, welcoming, and accessible as possible for all attendees. Here’s the latest info on the venue to help you plan your stay. Check back often for more details as we’ll confirm additional details on what you should expect when you arrive at National Harbor.

About the Venue

WordCamp US will take place on multiple levels at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. The main entrance has cut curbs, automatic doors, and paddles for access to the venue and the restrooms where WCUS takes place. Guests at the Gaylord National have accessible room options as well. Public restrooms at the Gaylord National are wheelchair accessible also.

We’ll provide maps and signage around the venue and common path descriptions here to help you get around the Gaylord National.

Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Main Entrance showing automatic sliding doors, revolving door entrance, and a paddle-controlled door with guests standing out front and another in a motorized chair leaving the hotel.
Photo courtesy of Tom Finley.
Main entrance at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center with wide aisles as you approach the Guest Check-in area located on the left.
Woodrow Wilson meeting room featuring two screens and an adjoining stage with chairs and wide aisles.
Photo courtesy of the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center stairs and escalators heading towards sponsor area.
Photo courtesy of Tom Finley.
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Convention Center accessible restroom with paddle to open door.
Photo courtesy of Tom Finley.
Two images of features in one of the accessible guest suite restrooms at the Gaylord National featuring grab rails, lowered vanities, and door bars.
Photos courtesy of the Gaylord National (left) and Tom Finley (Right).

WordCamp US Event Details

Programming

All speaker presentations are in one central area of the venue in the Woodrow Wilson, Annapolis, and Cherry Blossom meeting rooms on the Ballroom Level. 

During WordCamp US, we’ll provide ramps to all stages and work with venue staff to ensure wide aisles in all event areas for our motorized devices or wheelchairs users, variable table heights, and priority seating.

WCUS programming, except for presentations in the Annapolis room, will be live-streamed and live-captioned (CART services) on this site and on YouTube. All presentation recordings will be published to WordPress.tv after the event.

We’ll also offer StreamText captioning services that will allow you to directly access captions in real-time from your mobile phone or laptop to supplement those displayed on stage. Unfortunately, WCUS will not offer ASL interpretation.

Meals and Special Dietary Concerns

During lunch, we’ll provide a variety of meals to meet your special dietary concerns including allergies. Lunches will be served as a buffet, with volunteers available to assist. Please contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Quiet and Listening Rooms

If you need a break from the hustle and bustle of WordCamp US, we will have quiet spaces available to you in the Baltimore meeting rooms 3, 4, and 5 on Ballroom level. More details to come.

Nursing Room

Anyone who needs a private space for breastfeeding or pumping, the Baltimore 1 is available for you.

Interaction Badges

WordCamp US will provide interaction signal badges, in the form of pins, so that attendees can communicate their social needs and desires from moment to moment. The red pin signifies, “Nobody should try to interact with me,” while the yellow pin means, “Only people I already know should interact with me, not strangers.” Green pins signify that the wearer is open to spontaneous social approaches. An attendee can swap out one pin for another as their needs and desires change in different moments.

COVID

We strongly encourage masking in all the indoor session rooms. Masking is an act of community care, as we know that some WordCamp US attendees are at higher risk of complications from COVID. Masks will be available at the registration desks and hand sanitizer will be available throughout the venue. In accordance with CDC, WHO, and local health guidelines, WordCamp US will not require or enforce masking or COVID vaccination.

If you feel unwell or have tested positive for COVID in the past 7 days, please do not attend WordCamp US. Grab and go (packaged) lunches to minimize contact will be available on Thursday and Friday. Please note that multiple other non-WordPress events will be happening onsite at the venue.

Check out the WordCamp US COVID statement: https://us.wordcamp.org/2023/wordcamp-us-2023-covid-statement

Need Assistance?

WCUS volunteers will be available to assist you during the event. Look for them in brightly colored t-shirts. For accessibility assistance, you can ask a volunteer, contact the WCUS Attendee Experience Help Line by calling or texting (240) 202-5566.

If you have a Code of Conduct concern, you are also welcome to reach out via this contact form. A member of the WordCamp US Incident Response team will follow up.

If you have questions or need assistance regarding your accommodations at the venue, contact the Gaylord National at +1-301-965-4000.