What was your favorite / least favorite part of MOTD this year?
 

The title says it all. What was your favorite part and least favorite part of MOTD this year? I don't want this to turn into a complaint fest, but rather a forum to better next year's event.

Favorite: new events like the car show and geocaching meet
Least Favorite: the tent

I missed having the drive-in movie.

Had another fun time...
We miss the drive-in movie also.
Big fire pit gathering is also cool.

We had to ask around a little to find meeting places for drives, events etc., if it was posted we missed it, but we found our way to everything in the end.:thumbsup:
Great time - thanks to all who made it happen - C-ya next year.

So I have to ask of all of you that feel that the tent should be axed...why was the tent disliked? To provide some background...we added it because last year we had all the vendors in the lots in front of the Adventure Center so there was no room for people to pull their cars in and socialize...therefore quite a stink was raised. We didn't want to repeat this again this year and given we also needed large enough facilities to support dinners while we were staging the rec center for the Brew Swap and Casino Night.

Mark,

The tent was nice. We did not eat in there but it was nice to see some vendors in there. It was nice to be able to drive up to the Adventure Center but I think it became nothing more than "Ego Alley", we don't need drive troughs there IMO.

h

Guess I'm a little confused about what you mean by Ego Alley. If you don't feel comfortable posting feel free to PM me directly with your thoughts. Obviously every year we try some different things and don't want to repeat things in the past that didn't work well. Any feedback you can provide is appreciated.

Mark

I've got to say, I'm a bigger fan of having all the vendors up at the top of the hill. My legs are friggin tired from walking up and down that hill! :lol: Plus, if we had another deluge like last year the tent area would have been a huge mud pit.

Just my $.02

Well, it was my first time so there's nothing to compare it to. I would like to say that I was alittle confused on Sat. night when it came time for the farewell dinner. My husband and I showed up at 5:00 and there was nothing going on. A little more signage or at least someone standing by to update people on the changes. It did however give us a chance to wash the car and drive up to Fontana Dam. :) Also, what about a little music? Just a thought! Thanks!

I might as well put it out there, Being there was the best part of the whole thing for me,

but, The least and I think a lot of others might agree was the farewell dinner for me. I was a little disappointed at the price, plus the 2 hour wait. I would have thought that the dinner would have been a little more for the price, thats all. Food was good but so is a good steak dinner for the price...

First, to answer the posted question:
Best part: the driving- I literally found myself breaking into a huge grin as I drove the Dragon (and other roads). I have been fortunate to have driven some GREAT roads recently (such as a trip back and forth through the Alps last fall), but the fun I had (having my MINI makes all the difference of course) is as good a time driving as I can ever remember.
Worst part: is "it had to end" allowed as an answer?

This was my first MOTD also, I also had trouble finding some things. I thought the maps in the Welcome Pkg and that I found on the web were pretty good, but I thought that Fontana's signage is mediocre- or maybe be more precise on some of the directions ("base of the dam", "Old Registration Bldg parking lot" are a little informal and for a first timer not immediately obvious). Having a few signs up to point to specific events would help- but that obviously takes more work and more volunteers.

I was ok with the tent, having most of the vendors closely together works well for events like this IMO. Especially given that this is a grassroots event put on by volunteers, I think it was outstanding!:nod: We can't post enough "thank you" notes for all the people that made this possible. Great job!:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Worst part!

Our room in Dogpatch:mad::no: Fontana should be ashamed for even allowing those cabins to be used. And I hear the price is going up to $109 next year. Also the young man at the Farewell dinner dishing out the pulled pork gave me a rough time for asking for a "little more". When I snarled at him & said I better get more pork for $30 he backed off. Again, a Fontana problem!!!!! IF Mark & I come back next year, we will NOT stay at Fontana.

Best part!

Meeting so many new friends & seeing all our old ones:nod: Mark & I had a great time.

And a big thanks to all the organizers, you did a fantastic job:thumbsup:

Lois:grin:

Not at all,

I grew up as a sailor near Annapolis there is a very tight place that leads to a turn around there is no real reason to motor up there other then being seen. We all fondly call this piece of water "Ego Alley" I mentioned to my wife that this is very much like it. With all the foot traffic and the double parking I would rather see this closed to unnecessary through traffic.


h

Being our first trip to the dragon, we ended up not doing any events beside the chili and farewell dinners, because we wanted to do lots of driving (dragon, cherohala skyway and hwy 28/64 etc).

Was disappointed with the meals... the portions were so small and then to wait at the farewell dinner for 2.5 hrs to get a small portion of food was disappointing. Also, cokes were a cash bar item??

I think the worst thing was the traffic up by the vendor install areas. With the vendors and cars on one side, and then more cars parked on the other it was nearly impossible to squeeze through there and two way traffic was just not happening. I agree the walk up and down the hill was pretty bad....because of the altitude, not because I'm out of shape or anything :wink:
Maybe if all the vendors were put down at the bottom of the hill by the general store and the car show was up by the adventure center it would be a bit better.
I liked the tent, and the trailer was pretty cool with the registration assembly line, maybe putting the info booth under the trailer's awning (if that's there next year) would streamline the process by allowing the info-booth and registration volunteers to be combined, reducing the total need.

I thought the layout was an improvement over last year. If the installs/other vendors could be moved to the car show area near the car wash, that would free up the adventure center parking completely, which is what a lot of people wanted after last year. it is nice to have that social parking area where you can see a lot of people and cars in one place.

We really enjoyed the farewell dinner. The delay was simply a miscommunication and i can't fault anyone for that, and I thought the food was actually pretty good. Fontana food prices in general are pretty high, probably because they have a bit of a captive audience!

I really had fun, for my 2nd time. Best was the driving, the Brew Swap, and my new swaybar :nod:. Worst was my headache on Friday (hmm, whose fault was THAT), closely followed by the THP officer who yelled at me to SLOW DOWN on my way in on the Dragon Thursday (I found myself spending much less time there and more on other roads). I thought the tent was cool, but if it was gone next year, I won't be heartbroken. The Farewell Dinner wait was a glitch - they happen. The bar saved me.

The tent was a good idea, though I think it could have been a bit better utilized. It was an incredible space. Perhaps next time it can be used as a theater for watching a movie (dinner and a movie anyone?) much like the drive-in, at least it would not be sitting idle when it still could be put to good use. The lack of level paved areas makes setting up for the vender/installers a bit dicey. Maybe moving the installer/vendors to the lot up by the general store along with the tent in it's current location would be better? Not so much braving the hill for some who didnt relish the march up and down. Had the weather been rainy, the tent would have received more praise I think.

Registration moved painlessly for me, having the trailer there just for the task was good (though I bet expensive, unless it's use was donated to the cause).

The welcome and farewell dinners were on the expensive side for what was offered. Improvements can be made here as well as communication between the organizers and the caterer (Fontana) to move things along better.

I like this idea, I noticed at one point the stage area had a laptop hooked to a projector playing Top Gear and the CarbonTech and Yokahama people were using it for demonstrations. I'm sure other vendors could use it for demonstrations as well, or just play the original and new Italian Jobs in a continual loop....or if MINI USA would indulge us and provide the DVDs the Hammer and Coop Series.

Best: Driving the dragon

Brew Swap was great!!

Worst part.. lack cell phone and Internet service sucks!

and I forgot my beer glass at the b swap..so if anyone has seen it,
please contact me..i really want it. thanks!

It was beautiful weather this year, which made me not want to be in an enclosed space such as the tent at all, much less for shopping. I like the idea of having all of the vendors in the large lot to the left of the general store. I remember the 4th dragon, a portion of them were down there and it worked really well. This still allowed for socializing near the adventure center.

I don't like the idea of having the dinners in a large tent. I understand the argument for it, but it just didn't feel the same. It wasn't the big deal that it had been in the past.

I agree. This is the very reason that my wife and I skipped them. We had a very nice dinner at the MountianView Bistro for around $30 each. Table service, great food, and a great view for around the same price as the welcome dinner. We also attended the SSM Farewell dinner off site. The menu was great and the portions were ample, all for only $7!

I agree on the tent - it must have been nice for the vendors on rainy Saturday, but I'd rather have the Drive-in Movie back personally. I didn't have any issues driving through the upper vendor area despite the many parked cars, and usually found a parking spot near the adventure center which was nice. I didn't mind the walk up and down the hill personally. Maybe the thing to do would be to move the registration trailer down to nearer the General Store, then use that backmost "common" area for vendor set-ups? Sort of have them line the rear perimeter of the field, as it were? Not sure if there'd be enough space - a glance at Fontana's official layourt diagrams should tell you if that's feasible or not.

Some of the people I spoke with are also considering doing a SECOND Midnight Run next year. I know that "tradition" says to do the Midnight drive on the last night of the event, but after the Farewell Dinner and the many events of the week/weekend I was quite frankly exhausted by Saturday night. Also, many of us have families and kids, and had spouses that refused to go since we had to be up early on Sunday for a grueling trip home.

Not wanting to take away from the "tradition" of the Midnight run, we were thinking of doing a Friday night event instead, one more focused on family and a slower, more leisurely run up and down the trail... We can talk about that more in the wintertime, when planning for MOTD 2009 starts gearing up again. :thumbsup:

I also agree on the meals - the "official" meals were quite expensive for what you got. We also had to register our 6-year-old son with a "passenger" package, simply for the ability to ALSO pay extra for him to eat practically nothing at these meals. It was a bit exasperating that as a Passenger-level member, he basically got nothing - no swag, no goodies, etc. I'd say that children should not have to register, but I get that paying for the facility is expensive and you're just trying to defray the costs... maybe create a special "Sidekick" registration class for kids, one that allows access to certain events but thart ALSO comes with a special swag bag intended specifically for the non-driving minor? I'm sure that the organizers of the Little Dragons event can give suggestions on what could be put into such a swag package for minimal cost - God knows they did a lot for the kids at that event.

Now that I've volunteered them, I better run - exit, stage right! :)

I loved every second of every minute that I was there. :thumbsup:
I love the Dragon Parade.
I love the Vendors that installed some of my new toys.
I love the cabins that invited others to come join them instead of sticking to themselves (Way to go Way! Love the Margaritas :thumbsup: )
I love the Sunrise Drive (a few more of these would be a great way to start every morning).
I love the collection of shirts that I came back with.
I love the nature hike and the dogs that came with us on the Joyce Kilmer run.
I love all the different MINIs that I got to see parked in front of the adventure center.
I love the massive gathering of MINI's in the rain for the Group Photo.
I love all the people I met from all over the US and Cananda.
I love the look on the faces of drivers (other brand cars) as they passed our massive group as we headed out to Bryson City for ice cream.
I love the Ice Cream run to Bryson City.
I love the Bar-B-Que run to Robbinsville.
I love seeing MINI's everywhere I looked.
I love the cop that didn't pull me over for flying past him.
I love the fact that even after the first few days other MINI drivers still waved at each other.
I love the walks and the time my daughter and I got to spend together.
I love the oportunity to volunteer and meet people like Hamish and Mark.
I love the registration goodie bag and the swag that came with it (who would have known that the flashlight would come in so handy).
I love how so many came together to help put out the fire after the tree fell on the power lines.
I love how so many wanted to help Big Daddy in his time of need.
I love all the pictures and video that I took.
But most of all I love all the memories that I brought back with me.
So because of that I don't want to use this forum to critize anything, I will PM Mark if I have an opinion on how I can help out.

And everyone that has a negative opinion should first figure out how they can help to change it and not leave it up to someone else to do.

The only thing that was very difficult and sadden me a bit was pulling away to head back home and watching Fontana Village fade away in my rear view mirror.

BUT!
I love that it is less than 360 days till the next MOTD event.:popcorn:

JMTCW

Hi all - I am still working on my answer - hee hee - I have way too many favorite parts!! I will post that later, but I have noticed it mentioned about having the vendors in the lot by the General Store several times and want to clarify why they aren't put there. It would be a great place BUT one of the biggest reasons this was stopped was due to problems a couple years ago when we had a torrential downpour - it flooded that entire area and not just during the storm, the water took a couple days dissipate. It was a big problem that everyone decided was best avoided, hence the vendors were moved. I know there were a couple other reasons, I believe space constraints etc... but I don't remember them all. I just know the flooding was a biggie. :)

This was my first time out and it was not exactly how I had envisioned it after reading things on here but it turned out very well in my opinion.

Favorites: - Just me and Ambrosia driving along the Dragon listening to Commix - Painted Smile on my new upgraded system with lots of BASS! the sun had come out after all the rain and had washed most of the pollen away.

- Winning a set of new tires! exactly what I needed!

- relaxing in our cabin up near Almond, NC. so relaxing that we didn't make it to any drives or anything else that was too early for us.

- The Yokohama tech talk - great idea and very informative. there should be more of these tech talks next year.

Least favorites: - my allergies and the pollen...so bad that I could barely breathe at one point. almost ruined my time out there.

- wanting to take part in the morning events but realizing there was no way any of us were going to get up early enough and head out to fontana in time. after getting up early for work every day of the week, we really needed to sleep in and relax...oh well.

- seems like some of the vendors were not at their booths or had taken off early. I think I had expected more vendors out there.

- washing the hundreds of bug carcasses off of Ambrosia's front after the 600 mile drive....yech.



I think the setup was fine and I appreciated having the tent during the rain. I just had expected more overall I think (I'm just use to going to VW events though). I also liked the fact that prizes were given out during the farewell dinner.

Ever been to a BugOut?

h