I definitely plan to attend, along with wife and stepson. I haven't gotten around to registering yet, and likely won't for at least several more days.

 

For me, especially in these 'tough times', it's a perceived cost/benefit thing. We've registered for '08 because we felt it's the 'right' thing to do but, based on our '07 experience, well . . . shortly after we attended MOTD '07 we went to another weekend-long event (non-MINI related) and for $35 per person, each attendee got a nylon bag filled with vendor info, event t-shirt, 3 commemorative pins, etched name-tag and lanyard, commemorative coin, AND coupons for two picnic dinners (grilled chicken and pulled pork/burgers). Which event do you think gave the impression of more bang for the buck? As someone who has planned numerous events, I know past experience is reality and a factor in determining future success.

 

Being new to the Mini Scene although reading so much about the events, it seems that the whole thing could end up being very expensive above and beyond the cost of getting there. At this time what is the availability of rooms , cost thereof and the cost of the different events please.

 

The prices are here on the registration page: https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/motd-reg

There are lots of events/dinners that have an additional cost and several events that are free with the basic registration. Most of the rooms in the area are booked, but you can find some space if you are determined. I'd also keep an eye on this forum as sometimes people have to cancel and you might be able to pick up a room in a cabin at the last minute.

 

I answered the questions asked in the first post. If the questions were not meant to be answered truthfully, then create a multiple choice quiz so that you can skew results.

The wife and I founded HRMINI. We have worked for years to scout and prepare runs for that club.

I do know what goes into a major MINI event. That is why I predrove a run for AMVIV to scout out rest stops. That is why the wife and I worked for 5 hours each today registering early arrivals for AMVIV. We have two more days of volunteer work this weekend.

The question was "Why are registrations down"? We ask the same questions at planning sessions for AMVIV.

As said before, if you don't want truthful answers to your questions, create a loaded poll.

 

First let me mention I was registrant #1. So I'm a fan of MOTD.

I believe most folks who were unhappy about the 'vendor situation' (myself included) were unhappy about losing the parking lot in front of the adventure center as a social center. I think most, myself included were thrilled to have the vendors. We just wished there were a way to have them and not lose that lot. That's been dealt with. Good job guys!

The LEO (Law enforcement officer) issue is a bit harder to pin down. I wonder if folks who are saying 'just behave and you won't have a problem' have read what I've read. I've read reports of LEOs stopping just about everyone. I won't rehash all but its been stories of unreasonable harrassment of drivers who were 100% or 99.9% within the law, according to them.

The problem is trying to figure out if the law is being reasonable and pulling over dangersous jerks which I'd applaud, and seems more likely, or if they're pulling over nearly everyone on thin excuses as some claim on the some web sites. The parties making the claims about harrassment are hot, unhappy, and may be (are likely?) prone to exageration due to temper and a desire to complain about 'the man'.

I'm guessing that the situation is NOT as bad as some on the net claim, and will be there to enjoy MOTD. But this may be effecting numbers too. I've seen a small number of MINIs who needed some 'correction' in my opinion so a reasonable level of enforcement will probably improve the overall MOTD experience in my opinion.

As for cost, I bought a small performance car that ain't cheap. I buy fancy wheels, tires, pulleys, cat backs, seat covers, detailing packages and throw lots of disposable $ at my MINI. If I go to a convention, the beach, or a vacation destination its gonna cost some $. Anyone price just one day at Disney, Hershey etc lately?

I'm happy to pay what I see as a reasonable fee to support the infrastructure that adds to the event. Large sacks of windfall profit are not being made folks. Heck, when DCMM did a large part of the organizing 2 years ago after editing the handbook I printed out all 5-600 copies myself on my equipment at my expense to help keep costs down. There are similar stories all over the MOTD experience and I for one have some idea what it takes to do this, much less in the 'middle of nowhere'. I appreciate it.

Gas? What is it a dollar, dollar and a half higher now? With the trip down and back (I stay a week) I figure maybe an extra $40-60 bucks at most for gas. Compared to a weeks lodging at Fontana, meals etc thats just not a issue for me. I realize it may be for some but I'd be surprised if thats a breaking point for that many people who spent 20-40K on a small performance luxury car.

All told its going to be a blast and I look forward to seeing all in a few weeks!

 

Honestly, the cost of lodging down south is MUCH cheaper than I expected. I really think if someone spent an hour or 2 searching online they should have no problem finding somewhere to stay within a 30 min drive of Fontana. This will be my first MOTD and a then my first MOT followed by 1 or 2 MTTS. Thanks Gov Rebate Check!

 

Well I can tell you from my impromptu drive yesterday that things were pretty quiet around the Dragon.
It might have been because it was a weekday, but I only ran into (figure of speech) one leo the whole day.
I took a drive to Asheville, NC from Greenville, SC yesterday and next thing I knew I was coming off I40 into Maggie Valley and accidentally ended up at the Dragon.
Oddly enough the only real action I saw was on route 276 that goes from Waynesville, NC to Greenville, SC via Brevard and Caesars Head.
There were some motorcycles testing their tires on route 276 through the Pisgah Forest (awesome route).

So long story short.. Don't let the cops scare you from going to the Dragon.
Besides there are hundreds of roads to enjoy yourself on without going into Tennessee.

 

Well, that's part of the reason I come for the week. (Empty roads) Yes I've heard the heavy enforcement is almost exclusively on the weekends.

 

Well you asked...

I'm not going this year because I didn't enjoy MOTD5 that much. I had a few fun moments but overall I spent my time driving around & feeling like I had nowhere to go. There were over 800 people registered last year & yet I met very few of them because there was no place for us to hang out. There was nowhere to congregate, meet, greet, & ogle MINIS. I missed the feel of the previous MOTD4 where everyone would park in front of the rec center, hang around, meet new people, & talk about their MINIS at any point & time during the day or night. No offense to the vendors because I appreciated them every day for all they do for us & our MINIS but I felt MOTD4 was geared towards the attendees & MOTD5 was centered around the vendors which made it more like an expo than a community-base event & that just isn't my cup of tea

 

Your just looking at the increase in gas, that's not the only factor. Here's a breakdown on what I would spend for this trip:

Registration: 10.00
Welcome Dinner: 25.00
Pasta Dinner: 10.00
Monte Carlo Night: 40.00
Chili dinner: 10.00
Brew Swap: 15.00
Farewell Dinner: 30.00
4 nights in the Inn: 320.00
Gas: 210.00

That total is $670 and I haven't bought one tshirt or fed myself breakfast or lunch or done any driving while there. Could I go for cheaper, yes. Would it be as fun, no. I could have a stranger share the room with me, I could bring boxes of poptarts and pbj's for lunch. I could skip the dinners and events. But wait, then I would just be driving a public road and not participating in anything. And this cost is just for me, not counting my wife or daughter. With the way the economy is my family will probably only make one vacation this year, MOTD won't be it. You guys wanted to know the reasons for people not attending or registering, when you get the answers don't be critical of people's reasons.

 

I've read that the tax rebate for those who filed electronically is starting on May 2 Guess where that $1200 will go As I've calculated that this will be at least a 1K vacation if not more.

Lois

 

Thank you to everyone that has been responding to this thread. I truly appreciate your time and the thoughtful consideration you have given to your answers.

Obviously there is an abundance of reasons for the current low numbers. I am hoping one of the reasons is the lack of pressure for people to get registered since the dinners are now unlimited. This is very believeable, I can see people waiting to spend the money later if they don't have any incentive to spend it earlier on. I am a planner and prefer to have it taken care of, but that's just me. (And 300+ others ) If waiting is the case, we should see a surge of last minute registrations. *fingers crossed*

We are still going to have a great event, but if the numbers remain low, it won't be able to be everything we had hoped. After soliciting feedback and spending hundreds of hours planning, having meetings and making phone calls, it is incredibly disappointing not to see it all come to fruition. We based all the planning on last year's numbers and the growth we have experienced over the past 5 years.

We have truly been working so hard for the past year to make MOTD what everyone wants it to be. (As a large event, we obviously can't make it the way it started. That has to happen on other weekends.) I know we can't make everyone happy, but we were going for the majority. We listened to everyone and we really thought we had it this time, we were sooooo excited and now we feel so discouraged.

Some of the changes that have been implemented:

- No cap on the meals so EVERYONE feels welcome and has the option of having a meal at a decent price without driving 20+ miles

- renting the tent so the Adventure Center parking lot would be open again and give back the community feel everyone loves

- the tent being intended as another area that groups people could hang out too, even when it rains, It was to remain open all day, not just during meals. The vendors would only be occupying part of it.

- renting the tent so the the Adventure Center would be open for organized events to accomodate more people AND we could provide meal option every night

- meal options every night

- the centrally located, staffed registration and information desk

- the vendors inside the tent so everyone could enjoy them on the inevitable rainy days

- endless hours spent optimizing the organized events so they have excellent entertainment value

I know there are more, this is all just off the top of my head. I actually didn't plan to type all this. I just hope this conveys to everyone the time, thought and effort that has been put forth. I know that nobody will die if MOTD doesn't happen, but it's so sad to think the current status of registration could make this the last one. :( Here's hoping things will turn around and fast!

Pamala

 

Sheesh... time to clear up some of the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt):No, it isn't the vendors who asked for the tent. The tent is a solution to answer complaints from people like yourself.Guess what... that's what the tent is for! To open up that parking lot again! Not an issue any more - people had their objections after last year and the organizers listened. The area in front of the rec center will be open again...Exactly... but for some reason people just don't "get it" that last year's setup is not being repeated. It's not about vendor's tents. It's about one huge tent for everyone (including for the planned dinners). The tent was a solution to allow the Adventure Center parking lot to open up again.Mark... I'm glad that someone picked up on the fact the AC parking lot problem isn't being repeated again.Again, that problem is problem solved this year, Teresa... provided of course the tent rental isn't nixed due to low registration.

I am disappointed that people assume the event planners (no, I haven't been one of them this year) didn't listen to the constructive criticism last year, and assume the same (fixable) problems are going to be repeated. That just isn't the case!

 

Thank you Edge! *Great big hug to you!*

 

Wait...It rains down there?

Who allows this to happen? I demand the volunteer organizers correct this at once!

 

Actually, I liked the vendors being on the main path....but it did make parking a pain....

Where is the big tent going to be? That should be pretty cool, so long as it doesn't leak....and it is adequately mosquito-proofed, if we are having the dinners in it.

 

No one is suggesting you sign up for everything. Would I like everyone to sign up for MINI Monte Carlo Night? Damn straight, but I know that isn't going to happen... You have to decide what is good for you, moderation is the key!

I am bringing a family of 5, with 2 vehicles, a MINI and a Honda Odyssey from Pittsburgh. My costs for the total trip, Tuesday afternoon to Sunday evening will be roughly $1200. This includes all activities, food, lodging, gas, everything! $200/day for a family of 5 is a bargin!!

 

...quiet down, I'm working on it, jeez!! SHould have an answer by EOD Monday!

 

Yup. I'm thrilled this is back as it was a huge part of the sense of community to me.

 

Could you budget our trip, please We are going to both BIG dinners & the BrewSwap, 6 nights in their "rustic cabins" (about $100/night),gas from St Louis & back, & whatever else it takes to feed 2 adults I figure at least 1K.

Lois

 

*Reading book and practicing "No Rain" Dances

Okay, I don't know if everyone will be able to get their foot over their head, but we have to do what we have to do!

 

Is there a dance to help get my foot unstuck?

 

It is a chicken and egg problem. To have the tent (and free up the majority of the upper lot) we were planning on having 600-800 registrations to support the tent cost of ~$8000.00 (Fontana is paying 1/2) . Not having the tent requires that we use the upper lot...this is because of the lack of other usable, level areas at Fontana.

If we don't have the registrations to offset the cost of the tent someone has to eat the difference. Right now I'm the one that has to eat the cost of that and that is just under $2000 given the current registration number of around 400. Even at 600 with the $5.00 increase I would be in the red $1000. I'm willing to do that but I need to get registration numbers to that point to be comfortable reserving the tent. Unfortunately I need to make the tent/no tent decision on Monday so right now its not looking very good.

BTW - The tent isn't just for vendors. We would have registration and check-in there, the information desk, and seating for about 300 people for the Thursday and Friday dinners. It would be centrally located on the ball field and be the center of operations for the event as well as a refuge when it rains.

Side note: If it comes to pass that the tent has to be scrubbed....Before everyone starts screaming about being charged $5.00...I would plan to add a good item to everyone's registration to offset the cost.

 

I have been to MOTD 2006 and MOTD 2007 and registered each time, I even registered another person in 2006 (who I had never met before) who wasn't going to register.

Move forward to 2007 and a couple things came to play for me that will prevent me from going.

For one I got really annoyed last year that while checking out of Fontana Village and trying to reserve a room for this year, I was told that it was already booked out. Basically the "rules of engagement" have changed.
To me then taking a hotel room 45 or more minutes away makes little sense as I barely live 1:30 from the TN end of the Dragon. So my thought was to maybe go up and come back a couple days instead of staying there.

But as the next months went by I also realized I actually lost a bit of the fire for it too. I wouldn't say that it is that I thought that MOTD 2008 would possibly feel like the movie "Groundhog Day" or deja vu, but that maybe my priorities have changed a bit too. IE, spending less time on NAM in general.

So when I discussed possible wedding dates with Amy, we talked about early May and in years prior that weekend would have been mentally marked of the calendar. But that wasn't the case this year, and now my wedding is on May 3 right here in Chattanooga.

Maybe a year away from MOTD will make my heart fonder for 2009.

Either way though, I hope it'll be a great MOTD 2008 for those who are going.

Herbert