I went for the first time last year, and by myself - Arrived on Thursday and spent all afternoon just looking around. That was the best time to really see all the quilts, as the floor gets much busier on Friday. I went back on Friday to buy things and try to look at the quilts again but it got really crowded (did not buy fabric though - no bargains at the show). Had time on Friday to explore the shops in town. Friday evening went to the mall and bought comfortable shoes
I'm going again this year and will probably go to one of the Eleanor Burns shows. I will skip the fabric shops in town as I would rather buy locally or on the internet, and the atmosphere is too crazy for me to make good choices. The show is great to see demos of special tools and rulers. You will see some tempting stuff, but if you have internet access, check them out before you buy. Some things had enough negative feedback that made me come to my senses before I spent too much money. Other things were less expensive on line that they were at the show.
Saturday morning went to the museum - it's fantastic - when it first opened up and just about had the place to myself - of course it was raining so that probably kept a lot of people from showing up too early. On my way out of town I stopped by Hancocks and one other location that had a local quilt show and more vendor booths where I did break down and buy some hand dyed fabric. Can't wait to go back!