You should make the pilgrimage - it's worth it. Nothing like having lots of great gear that people want you to play! My only challenge is chops envy - there are lots of great players there and I start to get self conscious. One cool things is you can check stuff out at volume, and sometimes it does get LOUD! Nothing like walking into a hotel room with a 100 watt full stack cranked up!
Hope Fryette decides to show up...