Suggestions needed for Cobra Revolution II

[klayfish]

Trying to put the final agenda together for the Cobra Revolution II. I could use some help. Here's what we have so far.

The Cobra Revolution II itself will be June 5th from about 11am to 3pm, give or take, in Washingtons' Crossing Park. Lots of people have expressed interest in "after event" activities, and some are planning to make a weekend out of it. So once the picnic is over, I would like to organize some kind of cruise and have things to do.

Those who want to join us on Sunday, we will go to the Ford Motorsports Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. www.maplegroveraceway.com (look at their schedule and go to June 4th-6th for details). They have a HUGE car show, swap meet, flea market and lots of cool drag racing!

That brings us back to the cruise and the help I need from everyone. For those who want to hang around after CRII ends.... Washingtons' Crossing Park and Maple Grove Raceway are about 2 hours apart. I think the best thing to do, especially for those who are going to stay the night, might be to cruise to a spot that halfway between the two. Which would be Valley Forge or King of Prussia (the location of Cobra Revolution I). My ideas are as follows:
1. Once CRII is over in mid-afternoon, cruise around and stop in New Hope, Pa. which is a quaint town with an eclectic mix of shops, taverns, and people. A very popular hangout and only minutes away from the site of CRII. We'll stop there and hang around for an hour or two. Get back in the cars and cruise the back roads to the Valley Forge area. That way people staying overnight will be right at their final stop for the night, and people who want to hang out for dinner, refreshments or whatever can do so.
2. Same as above, except stop in Peddlers Village instead of New Hope. Peddlers Village is similar to New Hope, but more "upscale" with fancy shops and such. But still nice to see and very popular.
3. Cruise through New Hope and Peddlers Village without stopping. Continue on to Arnolds' gocart track in Oaks, Pa. This is only 5 minutes from King Of Prussia. Hang out there for a few hours, race a few gocarts (with a few friendly wagers). Slide jobs are allowed! Leave there and take a short hop to King of Prussia/Valley Forge where the hotels are.

Or, we could still hang around the Washingtons' Crossing area all day, and those staying overnight can head to the hotels at night (I'd still recommend they stay at a mid-point).

So what do you think is the best thing to do?

[turnpike boy]

All are workable. One question - are we kicked out of the park at 3? Asking because there might be the possibility that we just wind up staying there for a bit longer than that.

Peddlar's Village great for the wimmenfolk, but....maybe we do both downtown No Hope and then run off to Peddlar's. This will kill time enough to get all staying, out to Valley Forge / KoP late enough to be comfortable.

Dunno. Maybe it would be prudent just to print up some maps of the area, hilite the spots of interest, and let everyone do what they want from there.

'Course, we COULD all go back to your place for a nightcap and flop out on your lawn, awaiting the run to Maple Grove.....

[TonyMadrid]

Hey Guys,

What about doing the park until 3 or 4 or 5, if we're allowed to stay that late. Then we could all go have dinner somewhere, possibly in or near New Hope. Then an evening cruise through New Hope and maybe a stop for ice cream someplace.

Then we could all head out to Valley Forge or KoP for the night. If we all stay at the same place, we could close the night with some cocktails.

Then Sunday AM have breakfast and then off to Maple Grove.

All we need to know is how many plan on staying over and then we have to find a place in VF or KoP to stay.

Tony

[TonyMadrid]

I just did an expedia check and there are loads of hotels in the VF and KoP areas. However, the KoP hotels seem less expensive. From two star hotels starting at $65 a night to three star hotels at about $100. The Best Western is under a hundred and the Sheraton is at a hundred.

Steve,

You know the area better than I do so I'm counting on you for feedback on the hotels.

Also, have we got any idea how many guys are planning to stay over?

Tony

[klayfish]

As far as a I know, we have the pavillion rented until sundown. I just chose 3pm arbitrarily as an ending time. In my experience with last years' Cobra Revolution and the Cobra Civil War, people were ready to leave or do something else after a few hours anyway. I know we all like to drive our Cobras, so I'd definitely like to include cruising.

I agree Peddlers Villiage is more for the fairer sex, but thought I'd throw it out there.

Good idea about just printing up maps to hand out. But at the same time, I think it would be really cool to organize a big cruise with dozens of Cobras. And turnpike boy, there's a ravine and open field next to my house. Feel free to crouch in the weeds.

We could find ways to hang around the New Hope area until dinner. The only down side is people staying overnight would then have to drive an hour to King of Prussia after the evening activities are over, or have a 2 hour drive the next morning if they stay in New Hope. That's why I suggested ending in K of P area. Any of the options are fine with me.

I'm really not sure how many people are going to stay overnight. Many people coming are local. So even if they join us Sunday, they'll probably go home Saturday night. It really depends on if groups from New York or DC or other areas caravan down. If I had to guess, I'd think roughly 8-10 will stay overnight, but that is just a wild guess.

Tony, there are TONS of hotels in the K of P, Valley Forge area. I can come up with a list of several very quickly.

Steve

[turnpike boy]

I've found myself in more than one ditch in my lifetime. I'm sure your ravine would feel adequately familiar.

The thought of heading out to VF or KoP after the meet is probably more practical than hanging around New Hope...most (edible) dinner spots here are kinda small and might be a bit over-whelmed with a sudden influx of 20 or 30 peeple...to say nothing of how long the wait time would be. Reservations are an absolute necessity.

TonyM, there is a fine little ice cream stand up in Center Bridge, called Dilly's, that is a short toot (maybe 3 miles) from downtown New Hope. Should hold us till dinner.

Steve, I'll see what I can crank up in the way of maps. Just hope nobody gets lost...ask Cranky about this.

[Corky]

Guys,

Dillies is a wounderful place to eat, icecream, parking in the lot would be limited, 20 or so cars, max, on a nice evening, many more than that are in the parking lot before we would arrive, might be an issure. I hope sunday clears, and I will try to get out to find a cruise route, Turnpike boy, pm me or email me may be we can take a cruse out to find a route north and west. I am going to check out a barbeque place saturday night for dinner and talk to them about catering our event.

Corky

[turnpike boy]

you got email.

[klayfish]

Trafficjam dude,
Good point about the restaurants. Guess it depends how many are coming to dinner. The only other "larger" place I can think of out there is the Cock n Bull, but again it's Peddlers Village. There are tons of eateries in the K of P/Valley Forge area. So we can cruise back there for dinner. Though part of me still thinks about hitting Arnolds (but that's just the racer in me) . What about the parking in New Hope? My wife is supposed to call a few places, like the firehouse and the highschool to see about it. I would think the firehouse might be our best option. Volunteer fire guys are often car guys, so they may like to have us stop there for a bit.

Corky,
If you guys can get some ideas for cruise routes, I'd be very grateful. I know the area somewhat, but not great. Bowmans Hill maybe or River Road? Do you think we should take the 5 minute ride to New Hope first, then stop, then cruise...or cruise in a big circle and come back to New Hope? If we're gonna eat in K of P, we should head out around 5:30 or so, or a little earlier. Let me know about the BBQ place. Biggest issue is the $$$. I had thought about McCaffertys, but that went up in smoke.

Steve

[TonyMadrid]

Hey Guys I'm in for whatever you guys decide. New Hope, Peddlers, VF, or KofP. Just let me know where I should look to sleep. Let's get some common ground as far as a hotel for Sat night and then let's see how large of a group we can get and then what kind of a rate or deal we can get.

Steve,

Let me know what I can do to help.

Tony

[klayfish]

Tony,
You're right, we can hammer out the details of the cruise as we go. We can even change it last minute if need be. But getting the hotels in order is important.

My wife and I went to King of Prussia this afternoon. We found several hotels that I think would be perfect. Very close to the King of Prussia Mall area, which has countless restaurants, places for an evening drink (even a Hooters!!) and breakfast. Near the major highways, but set back with parking lots that have large sections completely invisible to traffic, so the cars will be hidden to all but hotel guest parking in the back. In order of recommendation, they are:

Comfort Inn Valley Forge- 610-962-0700- huge lot w/well hidden areas and probably not too $$$. Close to food, etc...

Hampton Inn King of Prussia- 610-962-8111- right next to Comfort Inn above

Hilton Valley Forge- 610-337-1200- across and up 200 yards from the other two, but maybe a little more $$

Best Western King of Prussia- 610-265-4500- other side of mall, similar setting

I can't find their phone number, but there is also a nice looking Motel 6 there too.

If you need others, there are plenty, but these should work perfectly.

Steve

[TonyMadrid]

Hey Klay,

I was speaking a friend yesterday and he told me that for the weekend of 6/4 to 6/6 there are a number of other events going on. That's the weekend of the all Fords at Carlysle, there's also the nationals in York PA, and also the FMS nats at Maple Grove.

I hope these other events don't draw people away from our event.

Also, on the hotel matter. I'm willing to go ahead and book at one of the places that you listed. The only problem is that I don't want to book a room and then find everyone else booking at some other place.

We need guys who are planning to stay over Sat to Sun to chime in so we can get a head count. Once we have a head count, I'd be willing to call the hotels to see what deals, if any, we can get on a group rate.

Tony

[REAL 1]

Steve: How far is the CRII meeting place from New Hope. During the summer my wife and I take the Cobra to New Hope for dinner at times. Its about 45 minutes away. What are the directions from New Hope to get there.

Also if you are think of meeting in New Hope, I sure you know parking is a bear. Are you thinking of dinner in New Hope? We would not be able to park together and people would get separated.

My thought would be just to cruise through New Hope and stop at place with adequate parking for dinner and drinks like a Fridays or Fuddruckers or the like. We can get a BIG tabe.

[klayfish]

Tony,
Yeah, that's the hard part about trying to choose a weekend. There is never a weekend that doesn't conflict with something else. We chose this weekend because of extended daylight, better weather (less hot and humid), and still 3 weeks from the Spring Fling. We looked at other weekends, but it was Memorial Day, or Kit cars at Carlisle, or near the Fling, 4th of July, etc... Guess it's better to have too many events then not enough. My hope is that we won't lose too many folks to Maple Grove or Fords at Carlisle. They aren't Cobra centered and hopefully if people want to go to them, they'll hang with us Saturday and do one of those on Sunday. As for the hotels, I'd recommend chosing one of the first two, and I will make it the "recommended" hotel. We can even call them and ask how many people have to book to get a deal. I really think we'll have a huge attendance, just not sure how many are local. Do you know if any from the Upstate Cobra club are planning on coming?

Real 1,
The CRII is about 5 miles from New Hope. I'll put directions in the registration form (which will be out soon), but it's literally straight up the street a few minutes. You're dead on about the parking. My wife has been in contact with the New Hope people and they have given us some phone numbers to call about the parking. If we can't find a suitable place to park, then we probably won't stop. We have time to work on details, but at the moment, I'm not planning to have dinner in New Hope. Like you said, we'd be better off going elsewhere, where we have lots of parking and can get a giant table. I'm thinking we'll cruise around the New Hope area, find things to do there then head towards King of Prussia/Valley Forge and have dinner there.

I'm not necessarily thinking we have to cruise through New Hope. Definitely open to all suggestions. I just think it would be fun, especially since it is SO close by.

Steve

[cobra64II]

I am willing to stay the night at one of the hotels you mentioned above. It will be my wife and I staying. So I will start off the list you have 2 people that want to stay overnight at the hotel. Please anyone else that will be staying please write back so that we may get the best deal possible and also we will not be seperated between hotels. Let me know if you need anything else from me. If you like you can email me the details.
Thanks guys
Felix

[cobra64II]

I also agree that we should drive thru New Hope and maybe also Peddlers Village, that would be fun watching everyones face as we roll in and then out. A Fuddruckers would be great, I havent had them in a while. If we get enough people it will look like the CRII just moved to the fuddruckers. You guys are doing a great job in planning this out if there is anything I can do from up north please let me know.
Thanks
Felix

[TonyMadrid]

Hey Felix,

Good to hear your staying over. That makes two couples so far.

I called the Comfort Inn in Valley Forge and their room rate is $79.00 a night. I left a message for their sales guy to see if they can give us a group rate, providing more guys stay over.

I also called the Hampton Inn in King of Prussia and their regular rate is $89.00 but the sales guy told me that if we book 5 or more rooms he'll knock ten bucks off that price.

As soon as I hear from the guy at Comfort Inn I'll post the details on a group rate there.

Tony

[REAL 1]

I probably won't stay the night. I'll just head home after dinner.

There has to be a Fuddruckers type place somewhere along the way within an hour of New Hope.

How many are expected to attend?

[klayfish]

Tony,
Thanks for checking out those room rates. If I had to guess, I'd say that roughly 6 or 7 couples stay the night. But that's just a guess. I'm really not sure how many of the north Jersey, NY or DC folks are coming and staying. Those rates are pretty good for the area. Like I said, they're about 100' from each other, so even if people stay at the different hotels, you could probably use the same lot with no problems.

Real 1,
It's kind of hard to say how many will be coming. Last year we had almost 40 cars and over 80 people. Our goal for this year is 50 Cobras and 100 people. I think if we can spread the word and round up some folks, we should get there. Yes, there are plenty of places like a Fuddruckers to eat within an hour of New Hope. We'll have no problem finding food.

I'm putting the final touches on the registration form now. On it is included a line asking if people think they may want to stay for the cruise, dinner or Sunday. That way I can get a rough head count and we can get a better way to pin down where to eat and to make reservations for xxx number of people.

Steve

[luke-44]

Steve - what time would you plan on getting underway Sunday morning?

I am just south of Phila, about 45 min - 1 hr from KoP, and would leave from home if everyone wasn't heading out too early.