Yep, I got them in a sample kit from one of the Meguiars clinics I attended. They are very cheap--what $5 for 20 strips? The strips are big too.

re: Cheerleaders
Hhahahaahahaha, hmmm.

 

A larger group than 1 might think

 

Actually, I'm constantly amazed at how many Miatavites dwell in NAM. But... no matter how large that group gets, they'll still never be able to fit more than one friend in their cockpit. MINIs, on the other hand, have been known to fit three, four, five, six... [on the advice of my attorney, we'll stop there]...



And, lest this post appear to be a hijacking, I should note that the reason we're even talking about Miatonians, per se, is that they have something that could kinda sorta be said to be "like" MOTD. I truly think that the two groups (despite the overlap already noted) would tend to be rather different and favor somewhat different types of events: MINIs are inherently social. Miatas are inherently... well, I don't want to say "anti-social"... so let's say "solitary".

I wasn't able to go to MOTD this year, but I plan to be there in 2006. I truly hope that the event doesn't go the path the Miata rally on the Dragon as apparently taken. I want to experience the interaction and fun that has characterized MOTD so far.

If the event is only about a car and some twisties, couldn't we all just zip around a cul-de-sac in our own zip code... really, really fast?

 

So true

Lois

 

I thought the welcome dinner food was very good and it supported a local business. Something we need to do if we are going to fill up there roads for the weekend. Some had to wait a little long for dinner but I'm sure things were learned from it so it doesn't happen again.

While I don't plan to go to the Dragon to spend money on stuff besides t-shirts and Dragon stickers, I would like to see some more vendors. There would be a better chance of me buying something that I could see in person. That said, I would probably order off the internet since I don't buy big ticket items on a whim plus I don't want to carry an exhaust or something large on my trip home. So if the vendors could bring more of their items to show instead of packing up tons of one thing to sell, I would be happy with that. Maybe run a special for a few weeks afterwards where the vendor would have free shipping for those who attended the MOTD.

I think the only way for the MOTD to keep going good is organization. I just don't want to see it get to the point where it costs more than a weekend at Disney World or have large catered dinners brought in from places beside the local community. If we are going to go to the Dragon, we need to support that area and have input from them.

 

I know the "special edition" ***** would have sold like hot cakes. Everybody I know wanted to win a Dragon ****, including me... Despite there being a TON of giveaways, I won nothing (but still had fun). It was amusing to see Marina's "I won" dance though... LOL I think CustomAV won my share! (JK, Chris!)

I've belonged to MINI clubs in 3 different states. Although there are differences, all the MINI folks I meet seem to share a love of socializing with like minds. I feel like MOTD was like 10x a great local club event. Given that, I don't think we need to fear going down the path of Miatas... especially since that Miata Saturday night proved that we shouldn't be following him! LOL (JK... we all know better than trying to mix Beer with the Dragon I hope!)

I was impressed with the organization. The event was what you made of it & I made the most of it!

I look forward to helping out next year.

I want more vendors too. I spent $200 on stickers, signs, patches, models and t-shirts...

Here's an idea I had... see if we could get events announced (and relayed) on the radios. 30 minute warning... Rally leaves from Tabcat at 1 pm, etc... might help those who are lost.

 

I don't want this to sound neg, but I wasn't expecting too much organization, or rather I knew it would be challenging to pull it all off, so I actually thought it went really well!

one of the biggest hurdles I saw is how difficult it is to communicate when you are there.. I gathered a whole bunch of cell phone numbers prior to arriving which of course were useless I don't have a solution for that..

(thank God for FRS, but even with a good radio the range is limited, and sometimes people sound like Charlie Brown's teacher)

My suggestions:

1> add a whole day to next year..

partly because I was getting a pulley and a CAI (which I'm really diggin' BTW ) it seemed like I was always rushing to get to the next scheduled even on time... maybe do the welcome dinner on Wednesday next year

2> do a Carolina BarBQ

I mean roast a whole pig (or two) with hush puppies, coleslaw, iced tea etc... surely there is someone local there who can put that together for us, and I think it might be easier than catering a sit down dinner

in any case, I've already reserved a spot in Fontana for next year!

 

Rather than a Wednesday "Welcome Dinner", why not arrange a smaller, "Early Bird" event? For next year, arranging two consecutive "dinners" might be a possibility, with attendance lists based on your locale. Make sure to group everyone together with new faces. Give larger clubs their own tables to maintain, and they can balance attendance and make sure all MINI folk get opportunities to make new friends, and meet new faces.

I'd also recommend a "slowpoke" brunch for the last of the folks to leave. Might encourage folks to attend who felt they were missing too much by not making it in on the 5th. Stagger the event slightly so you get the bulk of the fun, even if you show up a day early/late.

 

:smile: I think it would be fun to have a cookout for the first night...in lieu of the Welcome Dinner. It is nearly impossible to feed 325+ people without upsetting some folks (I know this since I co-organized the MKO Welcome Dinner). It is impossible to know exactly when people will arrive for the first night's dinner, since they are coming from all over the country!

So what about figuring out how to provide enough grills for a hamburger/hot dog cookout? It would be returning to our roots...to the first MINI Dragon Meet in 2003, when the Atlanta MINI Club provided a similar thing. We could bring our own hamburger patties/hot dogs/sausages to grill. I think that would be fun! (Barring any rainstorms!)


Clover

 

I would think that whatever club steps up to take on the Welcome Dinner could decide what it is that they would want to do. I'm sure that there are at least 411 different opinions on the subject; but I'm thinking that the group willing to step up and take it on should be in charge of deciding the course of the meal.

Mind you, I'm sure they will take your and the 410 other folks opinions under advisement --- but once they put their name on it --- it becomes theirs to run with.

Hugs,
PB

 

411 opinions? Next year that should be at least 600!

I like the idea of more do-it-yourself food events as well. Also, there are a LOT of folks who travel with BBQ trailers as a business. Given that NC is known for its Q, I am sure some would be willing to kindle a fire on the Dragon.

 

Well, of course whichever club/group steps up to handle the Welcome Dinner will decide that..... I am merely suggesting that it would be FUN to have a camp-style cook-out.

Best wishes and good luck to the next crew that takes the WD on....


Clover

 

Funny you say that. When we began planning the 2005 MOTD, we thought ---ok there was like 150 MINIs here in 2004; I'd plan on 250 MINIs and maybe 300 people in 2005 ---- at the rate of current expansion, MOTD would be closer to 800ish people -- but I think that might be over ambious.

With regard to the dinners, one of the things I LOVE about the chili cook-off is the pot-luck portion of it. It works so well and melds perfectly with the community nature of the MINIs. However, I like the mix too -- some things catered; somethings self-serve. I just believe that since clubs host the dinners, they should feel able to plan it how it works the best for them.

Hugs,
PB

 

Exactly.

Clover

 

How about a pot luck welcome dinner, and use the leftovers for the chili cookoff? God knows we had lots of food left over....

Also, how about running off a Dragon Recipe booklet of the scrumptuous goodies that were served this year? Any money made could go to whatever charity we are sponsoring .

 

I need to make a few remarks as a vendor and a second year driver...



I enjoyed this drive, but you are right there should have been a cut off at some point. there ended up being way to many cars and after steve did the dry run the day before he realized there was going to be a problem. so he talked to a few of us to help out. i was the leader of group three. i was keeping my eyes on the road and not on the map as my co-pilot should have been and we missed two stops. had i been out here before, i would have known better, but that is somthing you can not always plan for. all in all i think things still went well and i give steve a big hug for planing the event. but you are right there should be some times posted more than just it starts at this time. there should also be an end time.

i attended the first two dinners. for trying to feed 400 people, i think they did an o.k. job. this is not something they do up there all the time,...try like never. the first year we grilled outside out cabin one night, i think next year i'll be doing more fire pits and grilling. i think there should be one night where everyone is on there own for dinner. bring some food and grill it up. have some friends over and make some new ones.


As a vendor, i talked to a lot of people. i also bought a lot of product with me. i filled my mini with as much as it could hold, and the tools to install pulleys. i weighed a few items and am guessing i had close to 450 lbs of extra weight in my car (and could not have had any one ride with me as the seat was full also). the whole drive down the car was all over the road and it sucked. so maybe i need to ship more, but that eats up the money fast. i also bought a few things home. i installed 4 pulleys, 3 unichips, an Alta C.A.I. you have to remember that the more things we try to install down there the more tools it needs and time. we are also working out of our natural work place. we can not install exhaust systems and bigger items like it as we can run into problems. who wants to be the first mini that has a problems with an install and doesn't get to drive all weekend, and is forced to stay there till we get a replacement part? you have to remember we are in the middle of nowhere and the nearest parts store is hours away and most likely will not have what we need.

if people PMed me or called me saying, i would really like to see this part, can you bring one with you? i would have done that. the things i thought i might sell i didn't, and the things i never thougth i would sell i did. i just bought them along so people could see them.

also i got to drive the dragon a whole three times. at some point there has to be some time off so we can enjoy it also.


there where a few others, you just had to drive around and find them.

 

[QUOTE=welshmenwillnotyield]
"... how about running off a Dragon Recipe booklet of the scrumptuous goodies that were served this year? Any money made could go to whatever charity we are sponsoring .

Great idea


"How about a pot luck welcome dinner, and use the leftovers for the chili cookoff? God knows we had lots of food left over....

One problem that the Sweetwater BBQ had was the lack of a kitchen and storage place. Who ever hosts the welcome dinner would have the same problem next year. I doubt our good hosts do enough business to have the kind of refredgeration needed to store that amount of food overnight.
I thought Sweetwater BBQ was very good. I doubt there are ways to kill the line up for food but maybe it can be more manageable. I think I heard MINIClo say that she would call people up by table if doing this again.

One real problem was just the crunch of people arriving all at once. There is little we could do about that. I know that people were tired of standing in line to register only to be directed to a line to sign up for food (take a big breath) and THEN to be directed to another line to collect said food. A sign of just how nice our community is - people for the most part pitched in and helped when they could or just visited while in line. A very nice group of people were in there.
John

 

This was my first Dragon, and I had originally planned to be an official vendor, but as things played out, I was really unsure of my own commitment. After all, I was there to shoot a video for NAM, sell my VacuCams, be a participant, and at the last minute, write a story for a yet unnamed MINI magazine!

Due to poor planning on my own part, I didn't arrive with the promotional merchandise I had hoped to give away, although I did manage to build all the VacuCam kits I had in stock and bring them with me and create my Counterfeit MINI graphics. And due to a severe miscommunication with the group at the Farewell dinner, I wasn't included in there either. In fact, when I arrived just after 6pm and inquired about buying food, I was told I would have to get on a standby waiting list for any left overs. Atleast I was given a good parking spot on the hill for my Counterfeit.

Since I flew, I was limited to 2 checked in bags, 1 carryon and 1 personal piece. Turned out my small camera bag and portable DVD player counted as two items, and my carryon had to be checked in costing me more than the profits of the VacuCams I had for sale with me.

For me, the most important part about being at the Dragon was meeting my customers and showing new customers how to properly use their new systems. In some cases, this amounted to helping them troubleshoot their own video cameras to determine whether they were compatible or not. In other cases it was the satisfaction in helping others by distributing my little Octane "motion sickness relief packs".

All the while I struggled with wanting to participate and experience all MOTD had to offer. Thank you to David W. and Metta for being so kind to let me drive or copilot your MINI's for the weekend!!! You really made my visit a pleasure!!

My overall feeling about MOTD was that it was run very well. Having planned the AMVIV II Kick Off Dinner, I know how much work goes into planning these dinners and the types of things that can go wrong. I didn't mind waiting, and the cost wasn't prohibitive, especially considering how much I already spent on airline tickets, fees, charges, rentals, food (Thanks Mark F. for sharing your cabin and food with me!! And to Patricia and Michael for opening your doors to me to eat up your cookies and beer!!)

Next year I plan to drive my MINI, and will probably bring a trailor of some sort to help with the packing of gear and products. I've already got my eyes on a MINI Fini Sport Link to help achieve that. Better yet, I'll be sure to start months in advance to prepare for MOTD, and one thing is for sure, I'll know what aspect I'll put my focus on: Less driving and more selling.

Richard

 

This year was my first Dragon. My only "complaint" is that after arriving late Thursday (actually 1 AM Friday), and doing the Cades Cove trip, we could never find anyone at the Registration areas that we read about on the website.

As for the comments from the thread starter, I agree with points #1...2...3...7...8..and 9. I like Pete Crosby's and "DiD"s notes. Doing reverse routes would be good. And "congestion" was OK, since that gave us time to meet and greet other drivers.

I disagree with points #4 and 6. The Farewell dinner worked for me. AS for #6, my experience with growing events is that they top out at a certain number, because not everyone wants to attend a huge event. Maybe this year will be the highest attended Dragon.

Multiple versions of Cades Cove and Cherola also work for me. People can go at different times to allow for smaller groups, and, people can decide which ride they want to do.

 

I'd like to reemphasize that I do not blame anyone for the drive getting too big. I would like to blame those folks who took pictures from the hillside instead of leaving so my group (OK, ME) could use the facilities, but that's just my bladder talking. People did a lot of planning on the fly, and most of it turned out extremely well. It can be done better next time, now that we know about the problems. It was done great this time without foreknowledge of the problems.


That's the ultimate in laid back planning, and I like it! There does not have to be an organized dinner every night. Then again, there will likely be a club wanting to hold one every night.

Might it be possible for more than one club to hold competing events on the same night? I don't think all these events need to be exclusive. Or do they?

I was speaking purely as a customer in my original post, with full awareness that the mere fact I wanted something did not mean there was a way to get it there profitably.

One thing that might useful on this score next year would be some sort of a moderated wish list. What do people want done to their cars? What do they want to put on them? What do the things they want weigh?

Pullies and chips are light. Exhausts are not. Rotating and cleaning the inside of white wheels is almost all labor, plus a little cleaner. The Mini taxi was everywhere, and a gorgeous advertisement, but did he actually install any stripes or graphics while he was there? That was another thing I was thinking about but never even got close to getting done. Or how about a display of chrome bits? OK, chrome is heavy, but I wanted to see that anyway.

I do not know how many of these ideas are workable. I do know that the potential market at the Dragon is going to get bigger every year, and I hope that some vendors are able to exploit that fact.

 

Yep he sure did! He did the white bonnet stripes on my friends CR/W MC that I drove on Friday. I'm sure there were others. They washed their cars first before doing the vinyl.

 

It would have been nice to have some more "home made" items for the pot luck. There were too many chips/dips and cold salads.

 

Glad to hear he installed some vinyl. I tried talking to him just before the rally began, but that was not an optimum environment to discuss things, I guess. I wound up making a pulley my major mini investment, and am amazed at the difference it makes, even with no other engine mods.

 

I've hosted a lot of theater parties over the years, and this problem is very hard to control. Some folks will knock themselves out to make something unique, and others will bring stale chips. Shame amd humor worked best with theater groups, but I am not sure how to translate those tactics to 500+ people.

 

Exclusivity has nothing to do with any of these events. It is just more practical for one club/organization to be responsible for an individual event at the Meet, due to the intense planning and logistics involved for each one.

That said, I would have no problem with more than one event offered in each time-slot. Have several options for dinners, runs. Let people pick and choose. That is totally doable.

When MKO began planning the Welcome Dinner last July, we figured 150-200 people AT MOST would attend, not the 325+ that did. And we had to turn away MANY early-birds who were walk-ins. It was not possible for the caterer to provide unknowable quantities of food....that is simply an undoable situation for anyone feeding a big crowd.

I have gone to every MINI Dragon Meet and several other unofficial trips, as well. It needs to be emphasized that the MINIs on the Dragon meets are grassroot meets. They are not organized by professional event-planners, but by people like YOU....MINI enthusiasts....people who enjoy motoring in their MINIs.

The best thing of all, after all, is slaying the Dragon!


Clover