Sorry for the double post, but this suddenly reminded me- back when I was 11 years old and didn't have much common sense yet, I asked a forum if I could bring my ball python (that I didn't have yet) to the beach or the shopping mall with me. Someone replied, explaining how crazy that was and how stressful that would be for the snake, and called me a dummy. :\
Other than the part about ball pythons only being there to observe (which I'm thinking was just said to keep you from bringing another snake to a dance stage), your herp vet is absolutely correct.