What started as a small MINI gathering at Walt Disney World back in 2005, has grown into quite the annual event attracting ìMiniacsî from as far as California, New York, and places in between. Mickey and MINI 3 in Orlando, Florida took place recently on the weekend of September 28-30, 2007 and played host to approximately 150 Mini enthusiasts from about 10 different states. Sunshine MINIs, the main Mini club in Florida that serves as the umbrella for various regional clubs across the state, hosted the weekendís festivities which included everything from a car show to morning and midnight runs through the still undeveloped back country of Orlando and top secret areas of Disney property that you never get to see.

Fridayís activities kicked off with a few vendors setting up booths to show off their products and a slew of Minis converging on the Embassy Suites hotel where just about the entire parking lot was reserved for Minis. Detailers Warehouse set up a car wash on-site so people could get their Minis looking sharp for the car show that was about to take place.

Voting was intense, but in the end it was BLUCOOPR from Charlotte, North Carolina who took top honors with his highly customized Electric Blue MINI Cooper S with body color painted wheels.

After the complimentary cocktail hour that Embassy Suites is famous for, a sit-down welcome banquet was held to officially kick off the weekend thanks to the support of Minspeed, who sponsored the evening. The food was outstanding and the company was even better. Getting to see so many Mini enthusiasts all in one place having a great time is a pretty neat thing to experience. In between courses, the car show awards were handed out and prizes were raffled off. There was even a hard-luck contest where attendees were invited up to the microphone to give their hard-luck story on who had the toughest time getting to Mickey & MINI 3. The crowd voted with applause and awarded Carol Ann and David Thomas the winners after hearing their story about how they could not stay at the hotel and had to sleep in their camper.

Later in the evening a 50/50 raffle was held to benefit Team Pedro/Jose (Pedro Vidal and Jose Abreu) as they prepare to enter their classic Mini in La Carrera Panamericana in October. For those who donít know, La Carrera Panamericana is an international car rally held in Mexico covering 2000 miles in 7 days. The costs to do something like this are very high and it was so cool to see the Mini community pull together for such a cool cause. Things got really exciting when the winner of the raffle decided to donate her winnings back to Team Pedro/Jose. It was quite a moving moment. The evening wrapped up with a poolside party where everyone got to socialize some more and talk about the exciting activities coming up the next day.

Saturday started off with a complimentary breakfast buffet to get people ready for the full schedule of events the day would bring. A group of about 40 Minis left the hotel parking lot in a beautiful line of color to do the first motoring run of the weekend. After a parade and photo stop at the Dowtown Disney area, the pace picked up as the caravan left Disney property and found some twisty roads and elevation changes. After a short ride on a dirt road, the group found a nice grassy area for another photo opportunity. Getting back into formation, the 1.5 hour run ended by entering Disney property through a back entrance near the monorail maintenance building which is rarely seen by the general public. For some, this was the highlight of the morning (I admit ñ it was pretty cool!).

Next on the schedule were two events that people could choose from ñ Drinking Around The World at the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival or the Mickey & MINI Scavenger Hunt. A good number of people participated in both events. Those that went ìDrinking Around The Worldî realized that to get a completed passport was quite the challenge. While those that went on the scavenger hunt were not off the hook either. The items on their lists proved to be somewhat elusive. Each team had to report back to Kittty OíSheas Pub near the hotel by 4pm which only gave them 3 hours to gather up all their items. To watch the mad dash to the check-in table was worth the price of admission.

While the gathered items were verified, a complimentary all you can eat dinner party was held at the pub thanks to Downtown MINI in Orlando who sponsored the dayís activities. Everything from fish and chips, to chicken wings, to corned beef was put out by the pub staff. Once the judging was finished, Brandy and Amy Ellis were crowned the winners of the Mickey & MINI 3 Scavenger Hunt, taking home a MINI cuckoo clock as their prize.

After the party, the group all went back to the hotel for the nightly complimentary cocktail hour to trade stories about their favorite parts of the day and brag about the crazy things they had to do during the scavenger hunt. The hotel then presented a poolside ìdive-inî movie on a huge screen. Want to guess which movie was shown? Yep ñ the original Italian Job. For those that did not over indulge in the free drinks, a group departed for the Mickey & MINI Grand Prix which consisted of 2 challenging multi-level go kart tracks which provided some bumper to bumper action.

If that was not enough, the day ended with a midnight motoring run of a similar route that was taken earlier in the day. The pitch darkness made things a bit more challenging and when the rain started to fall, hands clenched a bit tighter on the steering wheels. Needless to say it was an absolute blast!

Sunday started off with another complimentary breakfast (Are you seeing a pattern here? Free food, free drinks and Miniacs! What more can you ask for?). Mickey & MINI golf was the last event on the schedule and about 25 people decided to join in on the fun instead of packing (some had to head out early due to the long drive they had ahead of them). The course was challenging and really a lot of fun. As if to say ìwe donít want this to endî, an impromptu farewell lunch was had at a local Chiliís where everyone got to have one last hurrah before returning home.

All in all, the weekend was a complete blast! Special thanks to Minspeed, Downtown MINI, 1FastMINI and Detailers Warehouse for sponsoring such an awesome weekend. For those on the fence about whether it is worth the drive next year, trust me ñ just get in your MINI and motor down to sunny Florida for Mickey & MINI 4! Keep an eye on MickeyAndMINI.com for details!

[ Mickey & MINI Website ]
[ Mickey & MINI 3 Gallery 1 ]
[ Mickey & MINI 3 Gallery 2 ]
[ Mickey & MINI 3 Gallery 3 ]