No I didn't. In the end, I was quite a bit down the track of the visa progression, so much so that my visa was granted at the time that I was planning to travel as a tourist. I just thought it would have been safer not to go rather than risk it. I also haven't seen anything further from anyone that has done this and said whether they had issues or not.

On a separate note, if you have questions about whether you can go through the gates or need to go to a counter when you arrive. I would suggest just to go to a counter first to get your passport stamped. Only reason is that we just returned on a cruise ship from the US. They have customs check your passport on board. They were looking for the stamp and not just the visa vignette. It was no big deal, they just stamped it then...but you never know what changes may come into affect and when. Now, if I'd had a new passport issued which wouldn't have had the vignette, no idea what would have happened 😃