A bit overwhelming. I was there 7 hrs on Friday. Made it though 1/2 of blue hall and 1/2 of orange hall.
I was looking for a specific MTH piece from 13 years ago. I found that the only way to even come close to having any luck at finding was to go to the folks that had lots of MTH boxes and ask them if they had it. For the sellers that just had everything on display or a few MTH boxes scattered among their merchandise, I just skipped. I suppose patience is something I should have brought. And I never found the item.
I did find a few items I was not planning for. I may have set a record for lowest purchase total: $37 The 3 items I bought I am pleased with the pricing and quality.
The thing I found very interesting was talking to several folks. I met Alex Malliae, his father, and Todd Wagner (all forum members). I also met Scott Mann from Sunset/3rdRail (he was extrememly nice and took the time to chat with me for 5 minutes at the very end of a LONG day), I met the folks from Weaver (also very nice), I met 'Mr. Lionel Rockstar' - Mike Reagan who was very friendly and answered a couple of question I had about the Open House and the service center he runs. I did talk to someone (no names) at MTH and sort of pressed hard on why the club portion fo the web site was still not working 5 months after I joined. Bachmann - let's just say that was an interesting excahnge. Most people/sellers were very welcoming.
I would say the best way to 'shop' at York is to be looking for the common items. You are bound to find someone that has it at a price that flat out beats everyone else. For example, I found a K-Line Amtrak RDC Budd set (1 powered, + 2 cars): $200 from one guy, $75 from another - all other things equal re: quality of items and box. S Helper was selling off the last of their stock. Basically, $20/car if you bought 5 or more. If one is looking for the very unique, it may require all 3 days to visit everyone's table and ask "do you have x, y, z?"
Will I go back? At some point.
Would I suggest that another person go that has not gone? Sure, but bring patience, good walking shoes, and lots of cash.
