Has anyone here attended the New Pilot Experience put on by DJI? If so, is it wortht the time/effort or just a cheesy introduction and advertisement? I am debating going in October but the closest to me is 3+hrs drive.

I went to one.  It was about an hour away from me, so not too bad.  It was really for those who have not touched a UAV before, but are ready to buy, and want some hands-on experience first.  There is a canned presentation that DJI provides the dealers.  The dealer that was running mine only used a few of the slides, most of the time was spent on Q&A.  

Typical general public type of gathering; some questions were very basic, some know-it-alls wanted to show everyone how smart they were and tried hogging all the time telling stories and such, others were business people (realtors, construction, etc) asking questions around regulations.  If you've been here reading all these posts, then you already know more than 95% of the people who will attend.

Again, for the session I went to, the first half was Q&A, the second half was hands-on flight time.  I've been flying for awhile, so I just let the new folks fly.  There were four phantoms there for people to try.  I left shortly after the hands-on time started cause it really became a 1-1 session from that point on.

If your session was taking place nearby, I'd say go cause you might make some new local PH3 friends to fly with.  At three hours away, you might be disappointed.  

But, if you're a social butterfly, and want to meet other PH3 owners, then it might be worth it.  

One follow-up comment, I attended mine in May, when all was still right with the world; before stress cracks, before firmware issues, VPS issues, tablets heating up, etc.  If you go, don't be surprised if the dealer reps are busier having to fend off an angry mob more than actually answer interesting pre-sales questions.

If more than one disgruntled owner brings in their PH3 to do a little show-and-tell of their stress cracks, it's gonna be total anarchy.  Hmm, you might want to pack a lunch, sit in the back, and watch the show.