I've been waiting for York, to see my old train buddy's, mentors, friends, Romans, Countrymen(well, maybe not the last two). As has been stated, if you see it, buy it then and there. Money is a good thing to have, and make sure you have change(ones, fives, tens) to spare as it is easier to give then wait for exact change in most cases. Also, yes, definitely make a list. It is good to have something. In my badge holder I keep note cards that is where my list is, and also a pen(or pencil) to jot down some stuff if need be.
All that is good, but by far the best thing to do is "TALK". Even if you are not really interested in something or it is out of your price range, doesn't mean you can't engage in a conversation. It is always great to chat to people because sometimes you may find they may know where something you are looking for is at. My local store is always one of the first places I visit at York. This is just to see how they are doing, what all they have there, and just chat for a while. At my first York I chatted it up at the Henning's Train Booth and bought a bunch of stuff(before I met GRJ). I think in October 2019, I spent quite a bit of time talking at the OGR Booth, TW Train Worx, Henning's, Lionel, and quite a few others. I even took a great amount of time in the member halls and talked to a few people in there.
One final note, Saturday is good and bad. As Peter stated, people are packing up, you may find something, you may not. Also, some people really unwind Friday night, all people attending. I tried to catch Steve Brenneisen my first York, but I had heard by someone that he had a lot of fun into the early hours of Saturday morning. He is one of the only people that I have not been able to catch at York.
