Three Nights, and One That Sits Outside the Block
The FullScale Symposium runs Thursday, October 8 through Saturday, October 10, 2026 at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46225. The venue lists the programme in Sagamore Ballroom 1-7 with a forecast attendance of 1,000. The organiser counts more than 1,000 participants and 100-plus sessions across the three days. FullScale runs the Symposium for K-12 education leaders, district teams and school systems.
The dates set the stay at three nights: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with a Saturday checkout on October 10. One of those nights sits outside the conference block, and the block reservation deadline is September 22, 2026.
Start With Wednesday Night
The registration desk opens Wednesday, October 7 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. for early check-in. The organiser asks attendees to use that window and skip the Thursday morning queue. Thursday then runs long. Registration is open 8:00 a.m. to 7:15 p.m., Learning Labs and pre-conference workshops run 9:00 a.m. to noon, the first main stage presentation starts at 1:15 p.m., showcase sessions and networking fill 2:30 to 4:00 p.m., a second main stage runs 4:15 to 5:15 p.m., and the welcome reception closes the day from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m.
Friday is the full working day. Registration runs 7:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., main stage presentations are at 9:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., three rounds of sessions run from 10:15 a.m., and the awards ceremony closes the day from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m.
Saturday is a half day and it is the day you check out. Registration is open 7:00 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., sessions run 8:00 to 11:30 a.m., lunch is 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the closing Learning Labs and Vibe Coding blocks end at 1:15 p.m. Ask the hotel for its checkout time and whether it holds bags.
What the Group Rate Covers, and Where It Stops
The FullScale group rate is at Le Méridien Indianapolis by Marriott, 123 South Illinois Street, Indianapolis, IN 46225, at $229 a night. The organiser puts the hotel 0.2 miles from the Convention Center. The reservation deadline is September 22, 2026, and the discounted rate has limited availability for October 8 and 9.
The block reaches the two conference nights. Attendees who need October 7 book October 8 and 9 through the Symposium reservation link at the group rate, then contact the hotel directly to reserve October 7 at its standard rate. Use the same guest name on both reservations and tell the hotel the stays are consecutive so it can link them.
Take the block for the two nights it covers. The hotel prices the Wednesday night, so compare that rate against $229 before you treat the two bookings as a single purchase.
Read the Rate Terms Before You Commit
A group rate is a contract with its own terms. Ask the hotel to state the cancellation deadline in writing, and ask for the nightly difference between its flexible rate and its non-refundable rate. When the block carries an attrition clause, ask what room count or spend triggers it. Those three answers decide whether a refundable booking is the cheaper commitment, whatever the nightly figure says.
Symposium registration does not include accommodations. The organiser directs bookings to its own hotel links and states that third-party sites may fail to secure a room at the negotiated rate.
The Covered Walk and the Room Outside It
The Convention Center publishes 7,100 hotel rooms in downtown Indianapolis, with more than half within blocks of the Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, and 4,700 of those rooms connected to the Center by skywalk. Visit Indy counts its connected convention package at 12 hotels and 5,200 rooms.
The covered walk has hours. The Center states that closing and opening times are event-dependent, with lock-down at approximately 11:00 p.m. and re-opening at approximately 6:00 a.m. The Thursday welcome reception ends at 7:15 p.m. and the Friday awards ceremony at 6:45 p.m., and both sit inside that window.
Compare the rate on a connected room with the rate on a downtown room outside the covered network. The Center's two published counts show inventory on each side of that line. Confirm the covered route from the property you are pricing to the Center before you book.
The Saturday-Night Spread
Saturday, October 10 is the closing day and the programme ends at 1:15 p.m. A three-night stay checks out that morning, so the Saturday night sits outside the plan. If you want to stay through the close, price that night separately. The group rate stops at October 9.
The Indiana Convention Center lists the American Dental Association Scientific Sessions from October 8 to 10 and the ABC Health & Fitness Expo on October 10, so the Saturday inventory is shared with two other shows. Check the Saturday rate before you treat it as the cheap night of the week.
Booking the Room
hotelHuddle sends one request to 50 or more hotels in the destination at no charge, with no obligation. Hotels respond with rates and terms within 24 to 72 hours, and you compare every offer side by side. You pay the hotel directly, and the platform adds no commission to your rate. Its terms at clause 2.2 read: “The Platform is free to use. RFP submissions are free — there are no subscription plans, per-request fees, or hidden charges.”
The order that works for this Symposium: book the two block nights at Le Méridien before September 22, reserve Wednesday October 7 with the same hotel under the same guest name, and ask for the two reservations to be linked as consecutive stays. Then get the cancellation deadline and the covered route to the Convention Center in writing before you travel.