Crowds are not one of my favorite things and I'd bet you try to avoid them too. Our conference is one of the biggest events of the industry and lots of people attend.
My travel tip for today - avoid the crowd! I learned many years ago to save my energy for exhibit floor. There are still a couple of days left to register via the IEEE PES web site to be able to get your registration packet mailed to you. Think of it as concierge service (at no extra cost and a discount too). Then you can have that extra cup of coffee and walk in to the exhibit floor when the doors open.
