I think there were good days and bad days for all of us. Weather issues, getting lost, illness, stress, anxiety, happiness, confidence, crazy people, self-esteem issues. I found it useful to be there (and would do it the same way all over again) b/c I wanted to be there if/when she needed me. And there were those times. Like at Penn State when she needed a certain application ID number…I found it, and don’t know if she would have been able to in her current state of mind. At an unnamed school where they lost her file and claimed she didn’t have an audition slot…would she have been able to insist that she did and talk her way into another slot (and yes we had a hard copy of the audition confirmation, yet they still insisted we did not have a slot)? I honestly don’t know. When she couldn’t decide to wait for a walk-in at a school that kept bumping her slot…was it worth waiting yet another hour? (We left…and went to see Mystery of Edwin Drood on B’way instead of waiting…best decision ever.) And yes, I also ended up helping other people’s kids (mostly kids I had never met and whom my daughter did not know) when their book was stolen; when they didn’t have time to get food and were starving; handing out ibuprofen; when they were lost and upset and were embarrassed to ask how to get to a building; guarding purses and coats at NYC Unifieds; loaning extra dance skirts; etc. It wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows…far from it. But having some non-crazy parents there to just be an adult was invaluable. If you do go, let your kid set the ground rules (like no talking/asking about the audition until safely in the car/hotel room; not engaging with the crazies; no peeking in the audition room - I saw one mom FILMING her D’s dance audition through the tiny window in the door, etc. - REALLY???). Ground rules - and following the ground rules - really helps, b/c there are fewer surprises. Everyone knows what is expected. Y’all can DO this.
I think there are good days and bad days for many of us, but not all. 
I can tell you in Dallas I was far busier than I ever thought I would be! I had to run and get pantyhose, dance tights, another mom had to run to get new leotard… I was an advil and change of clothes deliverer, check for an audition she forgot…all kinds of things were needed but I was not “with her” but I stuck close by.
Thank god there is a Target down the block from the Palmer House – after her first audition, my daughter decided to just go with nice pants and top rather than the 4 dresses we had brought!!! Keep your cell phones charged and at the ready!
I did both with my MT S two years ago. I generally stuck around for the parent info sessions and to find out where my S was in the queue, then, in some cases, I would go explore on my own (but stayed fairly close so we could re-connect at the end). My S did most of his auditions on campus but did attend NY Unifieds. You are correct – the venues are space-challenged so it’s a good idea to have a plan which may not involve finding wall space to wait! Overall, my bonding experience with my S was wonderful; I did enjoy getting the recaps following each audition and, in cases where he did not have back-to-back auditions, we planned events to get him away from the venue (bowling was my personal favorite since we are both horrible and it gave us a chance to just goof off). My D is in the process now for Acting. So far, I plan to be with her at the venue and will stick close. She is SUPER anxious about the process and says (at least for now) stay where I can get to you. Maybe by Chicago Unifieds, she’ll be an old pro! The process is indeed stress-inducing and is no picnic (logistically or emotionally) so allow for some potential meltdowns. Enjoy the ride!
Me and my wife hung around the NY Unifieds last year. Mostly just silent, we were the keepers of the backpack and dance bag. Pearl has two studios across the street from each other, so while my son was running across to the other building for a dance call, we lugged the bags. We made sure he had food and water.