I agree; it seemed to me like an event where what 
probably worked fine in past years when it was 
smaller just didn't work in the over-10K crowd we 
had there.

My chief complaints were lack of signage (and 
what there was was thrown together at the last 
second) and being told five different directions 
by five different staffers. 

But the most ridiculous part was not being able 
to go out the back door of the exhibit hall; 
rather, we had to go all the way out through the 
front and around the side (where we were treated 
to the pleasant view of construction equipment 
and delivery trucks).  Took five minutes to get 
back to where you would have exited the building 
if they'd just let you walk out the darn door.

On the other hand, I found much to enjoy and many 
people to enjoy. I assumed I would not get a 
sketch or an autograph; too many other people. 

I regularly attend a business conference of 
between 10 and 20 thousand people; the biggest 
difference is that they put a whole lot more 
ADVANCE planning into those coordination of herd 
movement things :)