We wound up going to WalMart around 9PM Thursday night, the crowds weren't what I would call huge, no trouble finding parking and no line at the register.
They did have most of the registers open, looks like they had staffed up looking for a bigger crowd than they got, at least at this location.
I'm heading out shortly mainly because I need packaging and such for my baking marathon. The town where all the big stores are isn't that huge so I'm hoping for the best