Before reading this - a few tips: be prepared to answer the same questions over and over again (last food/drink, allergies, what are e operating on?) etc... it's annoying but understandable why they ask.  good luck! Here is my story: 

Surgery day - arrived at the hospital at 7am. Verified my info at check in area then was taken to a waiting room with my family. they were given two vouchers for meals in the cafeteria and a "coaster-type" paging device (Outback or TGI Fridays style) so they could be paged anywhere within the hospital when my surgery was over, that way they weren't confined to the waiting area. Again, two pretty cool things I'd never experienced in a hospital before. Very "customer friendly."  I was taken back to get into the gown and hospital robe and stored my clothes in a locker that was provided. I then went to a preop area where they verified some info, I signed some consent forms, and they took my vitals. At about 8:00 I was taken upstairs to be prepped for surgery.  This was actually the recovery room and a few of the early birds were brought in post-op, groggy and mumbling :)  In this area, I had a nice nurse who put an IV line in my hand, took my vitals, and asked more of the same questions. I then met the anestesiologist who explained my pain control options (nerve block) and also examined my mouth/neck (that's for the intubation/breathing tube that will be required). My Ortho Surgeon and OR nurse stopped by, asked me some questions, quickly reviewed what he'd be doing, and marked my shoulder with a marker (and jokingly wrote the word "No" on my left shoulder - funny, but you'd be surprised how much crap you read about people having the wrong joint operated on.