We're *really* looking forward to this event! Thanks for all your hard work & hosting MMMT.

 

See you there Fracky. That is if Steve gets your car ready by then.

 

Well participants are beginning to arrive here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Matt & Renee Braun , of St. Paul, MN arrived yesterday after a 2500 mile drive. John Sowell of Roseburg OR is here. Several other from OR and WA are arriving today.

The tents are up and the band stage is being built.

Party time!!!!

 

We will see you all there

 

nm

 

 

I left Portland yesterday and made it to Tracy this mornin at 3am. See y'all tomorrow!!

 

See you in the morning Norm,will be leaving home about 6.Q

 

Passing by TI on the Golden Gate Transit Larkspur ferry this afternoon, I saw some cool, gigantic white tents (the pointy kind that look like the Denver airport)! Was this MMMT's venue ?!?!??! I couldn't look for a cluster of MINIS, I had to chase after my son on the boat.

 

We arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday evening after driving through MN, SD, WY, CO, UT, NV, and CA to get here. Saw some beautiful areas on the way out! During the first ~2500 miles we only saw about 7 MINIs, but that number has more than doubled since getting into the city. Can't wait to be in the middle of a few hundred MINIs (and Minis?) this weekend!

We're staying in Union Square, and ran into two Red Bull girls on the sidewalk tonight. Turns out they're driving a Red Bull MINI, but didn't know about MMMT. They seemed very interested, and said they would talk to their boss about it tomorrow!

Matt and Renee
Saint Paul, MN
'05 MCS, EB/W
"CPRSZME"

 

Will there be at-the-door tickets and parking for the Johnny-come-latelies that just found out about this event within the last couple of days? I'm just going through some of these threads and haven't seen anything outside the prereg tickets.

 

To all "johnnie-come-latelies" - yes we welcome on-site registrants. Registration opens at 12 noon today. There are several options for three-day, Sat/Sun/Sat only/Sun only with dinner/w/o dinner etc. For more information go to www.magicalmysteryminitour.com or scroll up through this thread. Or you can go to www.redwoodempiremini.com, visit the MegaBBS forum page and scroll down tot he MMMT thread.

For parking in the BIG Mini Corral must be MINI/Mini. If you are a member of a local Mini club, we will have club section parking.

Yes the BIG white pointy tent is headquarters for the Magical Mystery Mini Tour. I had to go into San Francisco yesterday to get come permit business done at the CHP office and when I started back I could see the BIG tent all they way from downtown SF. WOW!!!!

 

can we still register online for saturday only

 

just informed that it is too late to register online, register at the event only.

 

How about some info about when the festivities start - particularly the runs mentioned above? I'd like to come by tomorrow but want to make the run.

Thanks.!

 

Hi ... I was there today setting up my booth ...
I have some info from the booklet.

Sat.
8 to 10 Vendor fair
8 run to GG Bridge , Mt Tam & Stinson beach
2 Private tour of Mario Andretti Winery (Think this tour leaves @9)
2 to 5 Childrens poster contest
5 Sunset BBQ
7 to 10 Live Concert
10 to ? "see suggested points of interest"

Sun
6 Sunrise Beach Bonfire
7 Steve McQueen memorial run
1 Sant Cruz run
1.05 Giants game

 

thanks for the fun! we had a grate time

 

Lost & Found

We did pick up a few things during the weekend. One was a key, looks like a safe key on a black wire tie, the other is a peace sign necklace, and we have a small camera or phone case.

Also Lisa from Hooked on Driving lost her cell phone. If anyone found a cell phone please let us know by posting here.

Thanks,

Norm

 

Hey Norm,

That sounds like the lost laptop cable key that I lost.

If you could send it to me I would be grateful, just let me know what the postage is and I can paypal it to you.

Thanks,
Joanne

 

A message from Peter Ziedrich:

Hi everyone,

I will be making a single additional order for Magical Mystery Mini Tour shirts. They will cost $25 each sizes S-2XL and $27 for 3XL (including shipping). Your PayPal order must be received by Friday, September 12 in order to get one of these beautiful event shirts. They come only in black.
You can order this and any other of our MMMT swag (much of it is discounted) through PayPal while supplies last. There are only about 15 cloisonné grill badges left, so if you want one you had better order one now. Payment on all MMMT goods must be made through PayPal and items will be shipped to your address. No exceptions (unless you have already made arrangements with me) because I don't want to be hauling this stuff around to events. The PayPal site will calculate shipping charges.

 

MMMT experience. After a 10 day CA trip from Laguna Beach to Monterey and SF my girlfriend and I arrived back in Denver Monday afternoon. 2800+ miles, lots of sites, great food, fun and weather punctuated with the three day MMMT event. Here's my little checklist of the good, the bad and with it the areas of potential improvement.

The good.

1. Effort of REME in putting the event together.
2. Location. Treasure Island is unique, good central coordination spot.
3. Main tent for eating, bar, sitting, relaxing.
4. Food was good. Well catered, friendly staff. Also, the hamburger / hotdog stand in the parking lot was appreciated for snacks, drinks, etc.
6. Sun Kings band. Very good Beatles tribute band.
7. Program. Very detailed, well done.
8. Jesse ~ she's a doll. Helpful, friendly, enthusiastic.
9. Weather. Great time of year for Bay area. Hot (100+) in Napa but otherwise pleasant.
10. Options. Lots of choices to do whatever suits you and your co-pilot.

The bad.

1. Accessibility. As a wheelchair user, who did communicate with the REME coordinators months and weeks ago about the accessibility issue, I was very disappointed. Assurances that "the city will take care of it" should never be relied on. There were no curb cuts, albeit one half way down the parking lot, one access point from the far sidewalk to the tent for food. A circuitous route was necessary to navigate through the side parking lot to avoid the cable covers, of which I did fall over once (luckily, no cuts, bruises, etc.). The effort to offer a foldaway picnic table as a seesaw (teeter totter) ramp was half-*** at best and dangerous at its worse. This venue was an ADA nightmare. However, I get it. How many wheelchair users drive Mini's? Not many I'm sure. And I'm not looking for preferential treatment but a couple of pieces of plywood and a couple of 2" x 4"s fashioned into a couple of makeshift (but sturdy) ramps would have easily solved the problem and sufficed.

2. Website flexibility. Cool graphics but even with a highspeed connection, very cumbersome and slow to navigate. Additionally, the inability to print the event schedule prior to arrival drove me crazy! Coming from 1,000+ miles and not too familiar with the Treasure island layout it would have very helpful to have everything in detail on the site. How to get there, start times, etc.

3. Signage. There were no signs, makeshift or otherwise, leading to the event or, e.g. the carwash detail vendor. Maybe there's island rules about signage but a welcome banner or real estate type event markers would have made it easier and dressed it up. Great logo, great theme with the MMMT but it only got used on the t-shirts.

4. Fees / cost. When I plunked down my $170 ($30 per meal) I expected at least one beverage to be included. Tubs of donated water, soda, etc. are easy to get (think sponsor advertising, i.e. Aquafina or Pepsi) and should have been free throughout the event let alone the main dinner. $4 for a coke (1/2 can each) really set me off. Additionally, any fees associated with the event above and beyond my $170 should have been disclosed upfront. Wanting to go on the Andretti wine tasting tour only to find out that there was an additional $40 charge pretty much wiped out that oppty. I get it, not my first time to Napa, and there is a charge for tasting ($10 typically). But an unapologetic $40 ~ please.

5. Misleading information. Mini Mania had the event calendar on their site as well and offered a "racetrack" option that I was extremely excited about. Something like 12 laps for $20 at a track in the valley. What happened to that? And as far as the Giant game coordination, was there one? We ended up going alone but I thought somebody might have been wearing a SF Giants t-shirt or something during registration to talk about getting there, parking, etc. Overall, we simply felt whipsawed with contradictory information.

6. Communication / Detail. In a former life I used to coordinate MS 150 bike rides through Napa, Catalina, etc. for 300+ participants at a time. This MMMT event is big and in order to pull it off well needs lots of detailed communication. REME had my email address from months ago, why no email updates (countdown to the days)? Hey, we've updated the website, go check it out. Change in venue. Change in price. Added fees. Unforeseen expenses, etc., etc., etc., Detail, detail, communication, communication. The program handed out at registration was fantastic and filled with detail. Whoever put it together - kudos!! You should also be in charge of the website .

7. Vendors. I think there were about 6? The tents were set up for 12-16 I think. Weak, very weak. Probably the economy and such but vendors should be in abundance at an event like this. Mini-Fini - awesome. The sticker lady - great. Aussie dude ~ helpful. Everybody else, boring. Oh, and the car detail guy - lame. I couldn't give my money to him without getting a very lazy, uninterested response. Screen your vendors prior to an event. You want class, bring class. If the vendor's not interested, unenthusiastic, then leave them off the list. Vendors should want to be at your event not there by default.


Areas of improvement.

1. Consistentcy.
2. Detail.
3. Communication.
4. Lanyard information. (Think MITM where the schedule is laminated and attached to the lanyard)
5. Wristbands. See lanyard above.
6. Vendors. Why are they there, invitation only.
7. Sponsors. What are they giving away?
8. Fee structure. What am I getting? Are there any potential additional costs throughout the event?
9. Accessibility / safety.
10. The Economy

Overall, we gave the event a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10. I'm sure that over the years, it will get better. Just a few tweaks will make a world of difference. And please understand that my honesty and constructive criticism are simply offered to help you make your event the crown jewel of the summer which I believe it has the potential to be. Thanks

Chris & Stephanie

 

I really liked your critique Chris! The MINI5280 club here in Colorado are looking forward to seeing what ever photos you took. I'm looking forward to going down to Mickey & MINIs in Orlando,FL in a few weeks.
Thanks again Chris! See you when you come into the dealership next!

 

MMMT experience. After a 10 day CA trip from Laguna Beach to Monterey and SF my girlfriend and I arrived back in Denver Monday afternoon. 2800+ miles, lots of sites, great food, fun and weather punctuated with the three day MMMT event. Here's my little checklist of the good, the bad and with it the areas of potential improvement.

The good.

1. Effort of REME in putting the event together.
2. Location. Treasure Island is unique, good central coordination spot.
3. Main tent for eating, bar, sitting, relaxing.
4. Food was good. Well catered, friendly staff. Also, the hamburger / hotdog stand in the parking lot was appreciated for snacks, drinks, etc.
6. Sun Kings band. Very good Beatles tribute band.
7. Program. Very detailed, well done.
8. Jesse ~ she's a doll. Helpful, friendly, enthusiastic.
9. Weather. Great time of year for Bay area. Hot (100+) in Napa but otherwise pleasant.
10. Options. Lots of choices to do whatever suits you and your co-pilot.

The bad.

Chris:

I appreciate your “Critique” and constructive criticism. Since you have sent this on a national forum vs. a person email or PM, I feel the need to respond in the same manner. Let me first say that this event was organized, funded and worked by “club” members. This was done without ANY corporate sponsorship or funds. The vendors/sponsors did pay fees to attend very generously gave away about $10,000 in “GIFTS”. All the work and effort was done by loyal, passionate, hard working club members that got “ZERO” in return, with the exception of the smiles on partcipant’s faces. The club member paid the same fees as you and worked the entire event.

Here are my responses to your comments.

The Good: I agree

The Bad: Here goes

1. Accessibility. First of all, yes you did contact REME ahead of the event and we did investigate your concerns. We were assured by the city they the complied with the ADA requirements, as did they require that us to comply as well in their 40+ page “Use Permit”. The Great Lawn on Treasure Island is leased by and operated by the City of San Francisco under the direction of the Treasure Island Development Authority. The entire Island is ultimately owned by the US Navy. They meet all ADA requirements as specified by Federal, State, and local requirements and laws. The parking lot you are referring to has numerous marked handicapped parking spaces and adjacent to those marked parking spots there are breaks/spaces in the curbing to allow for wheelchair accessibility. I personally inspected those in an effort to get the “race” Minis into the main event tent for display. I walked the entire length of the parking area, some 1000+ feet to try to locate a spot where the Minis could drive. I found numerous spots along the way, “wheel chair access” but were not large enough to accommodate a Mini. Not only that but REME did provide ADA accessible port-a-potty bathrooms and washing stations at several locations throughout the event.

2. Website flexibility. Well the website space was purchased and paid for by one of our members. She put in hundreds of hours of her own time and effort designing and updating the website. Not only did she pay for this with her own money but did all the work on her own time after her 40+ hour a week job. I think she did a remarkable job.


3. Signage. There was signage getting you to and from Treasure Island. There are signs on highway 80. As you must have found, as you drove onto Treasure Island you came directly to the Great Lawn. Our members spent several hours making signs “registration” with arrows, plus many banners and signs “Magical Mystery Mini Tour”. Our “car wash” vendor had printed copies of maps showing where to go to get the car wash. I personally announced this at least 25 times during the event. If anyone reviews the photos and videos you will clearly see that these were “everywhere”.

4. Fees / cost. When I plunked down my $170 ($30 per meal) I expected at least one beverage to be included.

Here you are correct. This was an oversight and I apologize. We should have had water on the tables.

Tubs of donated water, soda, etc. are easy to get (think sponsor advertising, i.e. Aquafina or Pepsi) and should have been free throughout the event let alone the main dinner.

Maybe getting “donated” water and soda is easy for you, it was not easy for us. I would welcome your comments here.

$4 for a coke (1/2 can each) really set me off.

Both the bartending service and the caterer charged $2.00 for a FULL can of Coke or Pepsi. Water was free if you came to the bar or tent and asked. There was no-one at the event charging $4 for ½ can of anything. Bottled water was $1 each.

Additionally, any fees associated with the event above and beyond my $170 should have been disclosed upfront.

What “fees” are you referring to? There were none.

Wanting to go on the Andretti wine tasting tour only to find out that there was an additional $40 charge pretty much wiped out that oppty. I get it, not my first time to Napa, and there is a charge for tasting ($10 typically). But an unapologetic $40 ~ please.

It was NOT $40 to go to Andretti. It was $20 per person for a “Private Tour & Tasting”. This was well published on the website and on NAM and all other sites. These were the winery charges. The run was free. If you paid via paypal, we lost money in an effort to provide this extra opportunity.

5. Misleading information I am not aware of any event calendar that offered any “race track” option. If Mini Mania did offer this, I am not aware of it, and frankly I doubt there was such an offer.

And as far as the Giants We did offer this as a package. The “group” sales agent that arranged this left the Giants organization and did not pass along the information. The Giants never did advise me of this. I learned of this about two weeks before the event. After talking with the SF Giants, they did agree to honor the “package deal” and did provide seats at the agreed upon price. I am not sure but it is my understanding that there were only a few that did attend the game. I am unaware of any “contradictory” information. Again this was an option that did not provide any revenues for REME or MMMT.

6. Communication / Detail.We sent out several email updates and reminders for the past six months. We posted updates on all the major MINI websites, including NAM, MINI2, the MMMT event website, and most all other club websites. There was a “count-down” on the website

Change in price/Added fees/Unforeseen expenses/Change in venue? Please let me know what you are referring to. I do not recall any price, venue, added fees, or changes since the inception of this event.

7. Vendors. If you think that these vendors are “weak” then who do you suggest? I personally think these are some of the best MINI /Mini vendors in the business.

Probably the economy and such but vendors should be in abundance at an event like this.


Perhaps you should convince some of these “other” vendors to spend thousands of dollars in travel and fees to show up at an event like this. We did everything possible to get the best vendors here. We understand why many of the other vendors were unable to attend.

Mini-Fini awesome I agree.
The sticker lady great I agree.
Aussie dude Mc2? I agree ~ helpful.

Everybody else, boring. Oh, and the car detail guy lame I would be happy to give him your phone number. He did a great job. Everyone that got a car wash was pleased I couldn't give my money to him without getting a very lazy, uninterested response. Screen your vendors prior to an event
I did and am very proud of every vendor that did attend.
You want class, bring class. If the vendor's not interested, unenthusiastic, then leave them off the list. Vendors should want to be at your event not there by default. They were CLASS, Interested, Enthusiastic, and I would be happy to include them again.

There were 17 vendors with booths:

Mini Mania
Whalen Shift Machine
Moss Motors
AMCO Japan
Miniology
Vinyl Styles
Bay Bridge Motors
Edge Motorworks
Hooked on Driving
Stuck on Minis
California Highway Patrol
Selby Metal Sculptures
Wyvern MINI
MC2 Magazine
Redwood Empire Mini Enthusiasts
BLS Enterprises (P&S Car Care Products)

I can not address the "boring" comment, I will leave that to you to explain to the vendors that came.

 

The Magical Mystery MIni Tour website has been revamped. Please drop by and check it out. If you have any photos, please upload them. We also have MMMT swag and momentos that you can buy.

www.magicalmysteryminitour.com


Thanks

 

Thank you Norm, you handled "Disgruntled from Denver" quite well. With all the free activities sponsored by MINI USA or the "free to organizer parking lot events", I think some think everything should be free or nearly free. If these individuals even had a clue of what it takes to pull off an event of this magnitude...

I don't think most people are aware of the cost to rent the location, the fees associated with renting the location, the cost of private security, access fees to get cars on and off the bridges and through the city, fees to be paid to the state highway patrol, county & state park departments, etc. etc. etc., not to mention the tenting, bands and catering.

REME did not make any money off any fees! The cost to put on this event was only partially covered by fees charged! The vast majority of the cost of MMMT was paid by club members. We did not increase fees or create new ones after the fee structure was posted online.

This event was on a lawn surrounded by a 6" high curb with curb cuts located at each identified handicapped parking space. There were no nearby public facilities so we rented handicap accessible porta-potties and washing stations. Chris, I told you about this when we spoke on the phone a few weeks prior to the event. I believe we did address ADA and State of California accessibilty issues adequately. I am sorry if you had problems negotating your wheel chair on the lawn or across the covered electrical cords (also ADA compliant).

Those that missed this, missed a fantastic event. Please see the rave reviews posted on the REME NAM site or our own REME MegaBBS, and no, unfortunately to those that missed this event, this was never intended to be a multi-year event, so there won't be one in 2009. Multi-year events can become stale quickly, and after attending them once or twice there is little interest to go again. We always intended for this to occur only once... September, 2008, and I believe it was a "crown jewel" (although I admit I do have a bias).