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Showing & Judging => Events => Topic started by: midlife on August 20, 2013, 07:44:59 AM

Title: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: midlife on August 20, 2013, 07:44:59 AM
I'll be there as a vendor (harness refurbishments).  Who else is going?  Stop on by the tent and say hello.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: priceless on August 20, 2013, 08:32:45 AM
We're heading down Thursday the 29th with my kids and grandkids and doing Disney after the Nationals.

Pulling the 69 mach1 down and will be receiving our Blue Grille Medallion Saturday and our Conservator Award Sunday.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: carlite65 on August 20, 2013, 08:55:06 AM
we'll be there.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: AU SNK on August 20, 2013, 09:07:24 AM
heading down on Wed, thursday hitting water park for our kid.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: hopeto on August 20, 2013, 11:27:35 AM
Headed over from the Dallas area on the maiden voyage with a 2 car hauler.
Bringing my 84 Convertible and my 66 K Code.
(http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp75/hopeto/testrun_zpsc72e9726.jpg) (http://s399.photobucket.com/user/hopeto/media/testrun_zpsc72e9726.jpg.html)(http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp75/hopeto/testrun1_zps4e78f710.jpg) (http://s399.photobucket.com/user/hopeto/media/testrun1_zps4e78f710.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: kevin1221 on August 20, 2013, 10:15:30 PM
I'll be there with my '66 Sprint. Hoping to get the needed points to qualify for Conservator class at my next National.

I've been showing this car since 1999. Hard to believe this could be it's last competition!

Stop by and say HI

Kevin
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: midlife on September 01, 2013, 09:54:22 PM
A very strange show, particularly from a Vendor's perspective.  Yes, there were issues getting vendors into the racetrack area Thursday, due to Disney Corp. wanting to run their cars on the track until 4PM.  Big rigs and standard cars had to wait outside the track until then.  At 4PM, the volunteers were out marking out the various spots for the show cars.  Big Rigs were shown where to go, leaving us peons waiting...waiting...waiting.  Finally at 5:30, I see some movement and asked what was going on and someone said to go around to this entrance for the small vendors.  It's a small grassy area behind chain link fence, and there is the massive local club tent and the MCA tent.  One guy was out there with little orange flags marking off 10' sections for vendors.  No assignments, no coordination, first come, first serve.  Finally got my tent up by 6:30 Thursday after waiting since 1:30.  Grass was good: better than asphalt or concrete on the feet.

The show field was broken up into three large areas, each separated by chain link fencing, with almost no access between them.  Big Rigs were along one chain link fence.  Food vendors were on the opposite side of everything...poor souls.  Friday was OK, although registration was incredibly slow.  A line snaked a good mile with over 600 cars expected.  Very little foot traffic near the MCA tent and small vendors, as everyone was trying to prep their cars.  The show site was within the racetrack itself and there was no access to the racetrack unless you were a participant or vendor.  I believe shuttle buses were running, which meant that one had to deliberately want to go to the show.  No ability to see the show field from outside and thus no serendipity viewing.

Friday night it rained heavily, and the grassy field was 2-3 inches deep in water.  The vendors in the grassy area were in two rows; the back row was impossible to get to until about 1PM Saturday.  Brad Penn Oil is a major MCA sponsor, but was provided a tent in the back out of the way.  Because of the rain, folks hung their car covers on the chain link fence so no one could see that there were vendors.  Almost no foot traffic.  No PA system, although a local radio station ONCE mentioned the big sponsors.

Apparently during the Judge's meeting, the decision was made that if your car was judged, you can leave the show field at 5PM and go back to the hotel (permanently).  Those cars that hadn't been judged were to drive to the hotel for judging first thing Sunday.  The Big Rigs were informed that there was no need for them to be there at the show site on Sunday.  That info was not relayed to the smaller vendors.  I arrived Sunday morning to see about 2 dozen of the 600 cars still on the show site.  Ugh.  The Awards Ceremony was at the hotel at 11AM Sunday.  I passed by the hotel about noon, and the parking lot was completely full and no one could get access in or out.  I should mention that Dream Car Weekend was also at the hotel, competing with MCA members for parking.

The vendor spots were 2-3X the cost of other MCA National Shows.  With an expected three day show turning out to be 2 days, we got ripped off.  There were only three used parts vendors (myself, a couple of guys from Jacksonville, and Fast Freddy) in attendance.  No car corral, only 25 or so vendors in total, including food vendors. 

Just some observations useful for lessons learned for those who want to put on shows. 
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: carlite65 on September 01, 2013, 10:04:28 PM
well said randy. the only positive thing i heard was that the show is over. definately won't go back. cars were supposed to be parked by class.........mine was not. no one to assist with parking on friday morning. could not tell who was working the show as they had no identifing shirts or noodles to assist entrants. parking at the hotel was very very bad. it was announced at showsite that you could take trucks & trailers back but there was no place to put them. my fire extinguisher took a dump on my front seat friday and as i was going to the trash can to get rid of it i stepped in chewing gum..............that was it for me that day..............waaaay too hot.....overall a bad disney experience.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: midlife on September 01, 2013, 10:28:15 PM
Fortunately, I stayed at a nice quiet hotel away from Rip-Off Disney.  I can't imagine what it was like at the Hotel with two major car shows going on simultaneously.  I will never go to a Disney Park again.  The last time was 1986.

The ride-alongs on the NASCAR cars were 3 laps for $100, and that was a 50% discount!  Although it was nice to hear unmuffled cars, you couldn't hold a conversation with them on the track.  No racing for Mustangs allowed on the track.  If you wanted to drive a NASCAR car, you had to pony up $800, take a class, and that only allowed 8 laps, following an instructor.

Oh, I forgot to mention that there were only 3 working porta-potties in our area (1/3 of the show field) and trash cans were provided midway through Friday.  No signs outside of the track stating that there was a major car show inside.


Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: AU SNK on September 02, 2013, 01:34:41 PM
First I would like to say that we had an over good time minus the heat. We were very honored to win a Platinum Award for the Unrestored class as well as gold. I know the host clubs put in a lot to make the show happen and there will be lessons learned both bad and good.

From talking to host club members it sounded if Disney backed out on agreements and just did not honor what they said they would do on certain things. Having 3 cars shows at one hotel was a disaster for parking. One of my local club members who was staying at the host hotel was told Sunday AM when they came back from the speedway with their truck and trailer that they had to go park at Epcot. She politely told the security guard what he could do with that idea, moved his cones blocking the drive in and they parked anyway.

When we went to drop off the car Friday am we ran into one really rude lady from the host club (otherwise all other host club members were great). We were the 5th car in line to be registered and she pulls up in her mustang to the side of the line yelling at everyone to move out of the way so host club members could get their cars in and parked so they could start helping people. Not much we could do being several cars back and the person at the front of the line was MIA, but she kept yelling to move anyway. She finally walks away as other host club members line up behind her. We finally start moving in and she has still not returned and now there is a 2nd line of cars backed up behind her. I noticed about 30 mins later she still had her car blocking things up.

 My wife, 7 year old, and mother in-law stood in the parking lot with no shade for an hr and a 1/2 waiting on vans to pick them up. When they were in line they said there were at least 200 or more people waiting to get in, they saw a lot of people give up and left never making it to the show. Disney really dropped the ball on transportation. It is a shame to know people did not even get in.

Other complaint for us was being placed in the wrong class as a Shelby. Once my judging sheet was located Gene Turner found the judging sheets were wrong as well which put us being judged even later in the afternoon as he had to locate the correct sheets. I know this was not Gene's fault, but aggravating none the less for both of us.  But I guess better than being almost missed all together like at Pensacola for our first show  ;D  :P.

Fred,

would be great if yall could try and setup like at Keenland giving people in each class some sort of idea when their car is going to be judged so people can go walk around and see the rest of the show and not worry about not being at their car when the judges arrive. I know MCA judging is more involved than Keenland making this a harder task as some cars can take a good bit of time to go over. But it would be nice nonetheless.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: mmsnyr8120 on September 02, 2013, 10:37:33 PM
We will never do a show in Florida again unless it is the Pensacola show--that club knows what they are doing!!!
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: carlite65 on September 03, 2013, 09:09:39 AM
+1 for pensacola show. the classification line at disney was long. we got classified almost immediately upon arrival but the registration tent was a complete disaster. we could not tell who was working the show because no one was wearing identifying apparel. the parking staff at that particular time was almost non existant. no one had a noodle to wave you in. after i got my packet all i found was a letter and a commerative coin.............what a joke. the judges rewards were sent to the hotel instead of the meeting at the track. thanks to gene turner for tracking them down and making sure we got them although it was not till sunday at the awards banquet. i saw nothing 'grand' about this grand national other than the number of cars entered. we had the most cars in 65-66 in a long long time. most were superb and some were not quite up to snuff. the ball was dropped on this one in a lot of areas both by the host clubs & disney. that location would have been good for a one day show but not multiple days.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: carlite65 on September 03, 2013, 09:37:29 AM
regarding the awards, they were nice. but they ran short on some folks items. that seemed to be an MCA problem. as for the award itself i did receive one and the placque is too wide to fit into the insert on the award. poor planning there. just another item in the minus column.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: bluemax on September 03, 2013, 11:55:03 AM
I hate to pile on, but I will have to agree with everything posted. The one positive was the ample room for trailer parking... too bad the folks who parked their trailers at the hotel (and took up a lot of badly needed parking spaces) didn't follow suit.

That was the hottest show I have ever attended... worse than Jacksonville a few years ago! I didn't even get to walk around and check out all of the cars... just too hot.

I too, am glad that one is behind me...  :o
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: carlite65 on September 03, 2013, 12:00:32 PM
this one was probably the second hottest for me. my recollection is the show in franklin tennessee in 1998. it was held at the 'cool springs mall.' it was 105* in the shade. to make matters even worse the mall people 'thought' that they were doing the show people a favor by resealing the parking lot a few days prior to the event. the fumes were awful. folks were dropping like flies. we did not have near the volume of cars then that we did at orlando.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: carlite65 on September 03, 2013, 12:18:22 PM
i will follow up with this positive comment. all the disney folks that i had contact with at the hotel, conceirge, etc. were extremely friendly & helpful. they were very understanding of some of the problems participants were experiencing there but was out of their control. the rooms were great and the food was ok.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: AU SNK on September 03, 2013, 12:38:12 PM
I hate it for the host clubs that there were so many issues because you know they worked hard to put the show on..

How involved is the MCA on a national level in these shows in helping them?
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: carlite65 on September 03, 2013, 12:55:08 PM
there is a page/document on the mca site that deals with the requirements for hosting a national show. i don't have the link handy but it spells out exactly what the responsibilities are. search for 'national show requirements'.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: bluemax on September 03, 2013, 01:24:26 PM
I hate it for the host clubs that there were so many issues because you know they worked hard to put the show on..



I agree.

One thing that will always ruin a good thing is logistics, just ask the Asheville club. Your show site has to be able to accomodate the traffic; show cars, trailers, suppot vehicles, vendors, and spectators. We can not control the weather , although I knew going in that early Sept in Central Florida was going to be hot, but we can plan for the logistics.

Sometime during the planning phase leading up to the show the question about hosting the site indoors at the convention center was thrown out as a possible option. I heard several reasons over the weekend why that didn't work out, but based upon the fact that Dream Cars was going on at the same time, in the same hotel, I doubt it would have worked anyway... there was just not enough parking for all of the various vehicles. I rode on a bus Saturday night over to Epcot and one poor guy was lost trying to figure out how to get back to his parked car after visiting the hotel for the Dream Cars event... what a mess.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: CharlesTurner on September 03, 2013, 01:34:14 PM
I'm not sure how involved MCA is once the shows are approved, but it seems it would be in the best interest of the national organization to work closely with these clubs in making sure everything is done right.  There are usually 5 of these per year, they ought to run like clockwork with contingency plans for weather, etc...

Hate it for the host club, from what I understand, all the work they did will barely have them break even with expenses.  Disney evidently was not bashful about charging an obscene amount for the show site.  Most I have ever heard of, if including the cost of the trophies too.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: AU SNK on September 03, 2013, 02:55:49 PM
Also would be nice if the MCA would have the awards ceremony either Sat night or first thing Sunday morning and cut down on the fluff. We did not get home Sunday night till close to midnight and I am sure there were many others that had further to drive than us.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: CharlesTurner on September 03, 2013, 03:12:09 PM
Also would be nice if the MCA would have the awards ceremony either Sat night or first thing Sunday morning and cut down on the fluff. We did not get home Sunday night till close to midnight and I am sure there were many others that had further to drive than us.

As much as I understand folks wanting to get back home in a timely manner, there has to be some give/take from the MCA/regional club to advertise and show-off the club as much as possible.  That's only fair, considering the tremendous amount of time involved in hosting one of these national shows.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: AU SNK on September 03, 2013, 03:38:38 PM
As much as I understand folks wanting to get back home in a timely manner, there has to be some give/take from the MCA/regional club to advertise and show-off the club as much as possible.  That's only fair, considering the tremendous amount of time involved in hosting one of these national shows.

I agree with you on that and was not referring to that part of the ceremony, what I am referring to is having a guy walk around for close to an hour rambling on about much of nothing and needing a earlier start time.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: carlite65 on September 03, 2013, 03:43:36 PM
+1 on the rambling. lots of people were getting antsy.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: aslan on September 03, 2013, 09:28:29 PM
Having co-chaired the 2007 Concord MCA show, I fully understand what a massive amount of work it is in putting one of these show on.  I've also come to the conclusion that no club should do an MCA show without having helped in at least a couple of other MCA shows.  I'm not talking about attending but actually working one.  I've gone to too many shows where there were major problems because of the lack of understanding in putting on an MCA show.  I'm also realizing that putting one on in an establish business (Disney) takes a lot of say from the club (which should know how to do it) and hands it over to novices. 
Just my 2 cents.
Stan Edington
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: 67gta289 on September 04, 2013, 08:15:59 AM
I've been to 3 national shows this year and see repeated opportunities to improve things.  I would hope that someone (ok, more than one) from MCA would recognize the issues and develop a plan to avoid any and all repeated "mistakes".  There will always be new challenges - but with planning, communication, and follow through the issues should be limited to the new ones.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: CharlesTurner on September 04, 2013, 10:36:32 AM
I've been to 3 national shows this year and see repeated opportunities to improve things.  I would hope that someone (ok, more than one) from MCA would recognize the issues and develop a plan to avoid any and all repeated "mistakes".  There will always be new challenges - but with planning, communication, and follow through the issues should be limited to the new ones.

Totally agree.  MCA needs to step it up and do more than provide a document to the club.  Seems like there ought to be start/stop/continue type conversations with MCA and each host club after national shows.  This would be invaluable information to improving things.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: J_Speegle on September 04, 2013, 10:58:13 PM
Totally agree.  MCA needs to step it up and do more than provide a document to the club.  Seems like there ought to be start/stop/continue type conversations with MCA and each host club after national shows.  This would be invaluable information to improving things.

It surprises me that there is not a requirement for an after action plan and follow up. :(
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: Laurie S. on September 05, 2013, 01:29:10 AM
The Show Committee, of which I'm a member, currently is in the process of rewriting the guidelines and changing procedures to ensure that host clubs understand what is required of them and do it.  Also, we do not just sign off on a show and then stand back.  Different committee members work with each host club to help them through the process.  Within three months after a show, the host club is required to provide MCA with a financial reckoning of the show and a summary.  We have had clubs refuse to provide this information, which should preclude them from being awarded another show until that requirement has been met.  I believe this should be better enforced than it has been in the past.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: buckeyeresto on September 06, 2013, 07:12:27 PM
the mca should take note from the aaca and do the awards on Saturday night and if your not there mail your award for 10 bucks.  Also the National club should be more involved in helping the local club be organized the aaca shows run smoothly as the mca's do not.  Also a good idea would be all cars should be driven on the show field to prove there road worthiness after 50 years even an event like bonus points should be given for a 20 mile road tour at grand national events just like high end concours shows were the dusenburgs, essex, marmons etc are on the prowl proving there road worthiness. Who cares if you put the nos tartop battery, nos exhaust system, nos tires on the car start it up prove its road worthiness and drive it onto the show field.   Even in the old days the MCA cars had to pass a tech inspection which was a joke but it was something. 
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: J_Speegle on September 06, 2013, 08:38:32 PM
........... Who cares if you put the nos tartop battery, nos exhaust system, nos tires on the car start it up prove its road worthiness and drive it onto the show field.   Even in the old days the MCA cars had to pass a tech inspection which was a joke but it was something.

I do :)

We'll have to differ on that point ;) I don't care (as a judge) if the car can do 0-60 in the original amount of time. I care more about the parts and what I see than its performance in a show..... track events are for that IMHO

Watching an auction at this minute.... they don't even require the cars to run.
Title: Re: Mustangs at MickYard: Who's Going?
Post by: CharlesTurner on September 06, 2013, 08:57:08 PM
Agree with Jeff.  Some of us don't care if a car runs or not, it's just a matter of opinion and a choice if we desire to build a car and not start it.  I totally appreciate and respect if one wants to start their car with NOS/original exhaust, that's their choice.  The nice thing about the car hobby is there is room for everyone and no right or wrong in how one enjoys automobiles.