VMworld, the good, the bad, and the ugly

My first VMworld was great, confusing, and just weird at times. First off, the guest pass I previously questioned purchasing. I did purchase it and my guest and I attended the 2 events. While it was fun, I don't think it was worth the price. The food provided was... well not to our liking. I'm sure some were happy with it, and the free beer/wine was nice.. just wish it was something I actually drank or would eat. Maybe we're just too picky though.
Now from a technical stand point, VMworld is awesome. I had direct access to several of the vendors we actually use on a daily basis. I was able to walk 20 feet and discuss our plans for some new brocade switches, walk 20 feet and talk about an issue we're having with our bluecoat device (web filtering, they put me in touch with a top notch tech support guy.. I'll be holding onto his contact info like gold). Walk another 10 feet and talk about stuff you've been wondering about with whom ever. The classes given were outstanding as well. Now locating what class you could/should attend, was were the confusing came in. So much to pick from, and no indication of what was the hot stuff and what was an uneventful event. I missed the "super sessions" simply because I didn't know they were "super".
Now the great news for me... I won a conference pass for next year! Simply fill out the request to review vmworld that they email you to be entered and walla... real people actually win a pass! :)
Feel free to drop me a line if you're looking to check it out next year.. the more the merrier!