What to Know Before You Register for TDWI Transform 2026 in Anaheim
TDWI Transform 2026 runs September 20–25 at the JW Marriott in Anaheim. If you're deciding whether to attend — or trying to figure out how to structure your week — here's what's worth knowing before you commit.
The conference spans six days, but you don't have to attend all of them. Passes are flexible, and many attendees build their schedule around three or four days of masterclasses that are most relevant to their current work. The full agenda is already up, so it's worth browsing the 57 masterclasses before you register rather than after — it makes the registration process a lot less abstract.
The masterclasses themselves run either half-day or full-day, which is a different format from the typical conference breakout. You're not hopping between 45-minute talks. You sit with an instructor for three hours or more (with breaks of course!), which tends to work better if you actually want to learn something rather than just collect slides.
There are also bootcamps running across the week — AI Strategy, Data Governance, Machine Learning, Data Science, Dimensional Modeling, and others — each of which ends with a certificate. If you're looking to build a credential alongside the learning, those are worth looking at specifically.
The co-located Data & AI Leaders Summit runs September 21–23 and is a separate track aimed at senior leaders. It has a different structure from the main conference — more panels, case studies, and workshops — and you can combine Summit days with masterclass days in a single registration.
One practical note: the JW Marriott is right next to Disneyland, and TDWI has negotiated a hotel rate worth taking advantage of if you're traveling in. The venue is genuinely nice, and the location makes it easy to extend the trip if you're bringing family.