I attend Anaheim show annually, and here are my general thoughts.
It is the Mecca for music instrument enthusiast, there is just so much to see and touch. You will see brands and products that you have never seen or heard of before. It is a great place for start up vendors to introduce themselves and their products to the world. Many of these start up vendors will be in the Section "E" which is essentially the basement of the Convention center. Section's A,B,C, D on the Main floor have most of the well established vendors. On levels 2 and 3 you will find some of the larger brands such as, Roland, Fender, Gibson, PRS, and Peavey. If you are looking for Yamaha you will have to go next door to the Marriott.
People generally attend the show for two reasons, First reason is to check out the latest equipment and actually be able to speak to the smartest person in the booth. The Second reason has multiple reasons including: seeing and being seen with Rock stars and other musical celebrities, Stand in line and get autographs by some of these same Celebrities and to grab as many free bags as possible.
The show gets progressively busier each day. Sat tends to be the most crowded as this is when most celebrities are invited to make appearances, and more locals drive in and fill the convention center.
I admit it is hard to deny the novelty of seeing some of the 80's rock legends walk around or seeing many of the "You Tube" icons walking around and making videos.
But really I come to see and touch new equipment and see the demos, and the Best day for this is Thursday. This first day is always the most productive for me as the crowds are less and you can actually walk around without getting bumped by people wearing backpacks. I Stay until about 2pm on Friday and then I head out to Airport to get out before it gets too packed.
I don't stay around for Sat or Sunday anymore, It is just nuts. You feel like you are in a herd of cattle. It becomes nearly impossible to get into any of the booths to see or talk to anyone and booths that are not crowded.. Well lets just say they don't have anything to draw the crowd or celebrities for that matter.
Wear comfortable shoes, I would eat a nice heavy breakfast, as the food in the convention center is not that great and if you are on a schedule you may not want to stop to eat. They have a half of dozen food trucks outside and those are pretty good, but there are several places to get Alcohol and coffee.
Enjoy the show, take pictures, post them on FB and make all of your friends jealous.
