Downtown Disney Master Cars Weekend

[Bobby41909]

Had the opportunity to attend Downtown Disney's Master Car Weekend event this past Saturday and Sunday.  This is a limited space show at Disney World in Orlando Florida.  It's the second year of this event which focuses on Disney's "Cars" franchise and includes full size replica's of Lightning McQueen, Fin McMissle, and Mater (for those of you with kids you'll know what that's all about) and over 100 classic cars.  The event is put on by the Muscle Car Network of Central Florida in conjuction with Disney (of course).

The judging was done none other than Chip Foose (I am sure you all know who he is) and Jay Ward (Pixar executive responsible for the automotive details in the "Cars" movies).  The event spans the entire weekend which was a bit much but worth it in the end.  Arrive at 5:45am both days and your let go at 6pm both days.  However, if you won an award, the ceremony on Sunday lasts until 8-ish.  Long days in the hot Florida sun!

I met alot of great people and unlike most 4 to 5 hours shows I really got to know them which was an added benefit.  There were at least 30,000+ people that came through the event which was very cool but also nerve racking at times.  So many people from all over the world wanted to take a photo with the General it was crazy.  Got to talk to so many folks in love with my car which was a priceless experience!

The best part for me though was the one on one's with Chip Foose.  First he spent somewhere in to 10 to 15 minutes with you going over your car and asking questions.   Then we (as a group) had dinner with him, where he signed a few items for us.  My wife won a tee shirt and he not only signed it but also did a rendering of my car for our son!  He loved the General.  Then we meet him again for pictures with our cars on Sunday morning (see below).

The General won 1st Place in the Classics 1960 - 1980 category! The Ceremony wasn't like any other car show I've ever been in.  You find out you won an award then they let everyone else go.  The winners drive down the center of Downtown Disney with 1,000's of people lining the streets cheering and when you get to your turn at the stage, you find out what you won.  Then Chip Foose takes the mic and tells the crowd why he picked your car to win.  He had a lot of nice things to say about the General!.

Below are a few pictures for your enjoyment!

[Bobby41909]

A few more




The lead event planner is JR, a guy how got OverHauled.  He let my son sit in his car!  Sweet Challenger

[Bobby41909]

 A few more:

[68X426]

Awesome. Great memories for everyone. 

[Bobby41909]

As I looked at these pictures I noticed it looks like no one else was around.  We were granted access to the grounds hours before they were open to the public.  Additionally, I was in the first group to be judged so the crowds hadn't arrived yet.

There are a few video clips I found on youtube.  There were two General Lee's there (go figure).  Haven't ever seen another one in Forida.  Turns out that General was from up north and the owner Joe's wife is the manager of original Dukes of hazzard cast and sets them up for event and signings around the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMoQ2bymApg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy5SLYr9PCw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZBV0fmSQow&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwhdll1Q1PM&feature=related

[myk]

Wow thanks for sharing.  Having Foose himself judge your car must've been kinda unnerving, yeah?

[UH60L]

Wow, that sounds like a heck of a car show to attend, especially if you win something.  Makes the local shows seem kinda small, when you got to pull up on stage in front of thousands of people.

Pretty cool.  Thanks for sharing the pics.

[BananaDan]

Wow, what a great event.  It's awesome that Disney does that.  My son would go crazy to see McQueen, Mater and Finn in 'real life'. 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Wow that is a huge deal man!  Chip Foose & all!

Congrats!  General looking good!

Coolest trophy ever as well!

[projectanimal]

Awesome!!!  I use to work for Disney and just enjoyed a Disney cruise. Looks like an amazing event and a great chance to rub elbows with Foose!
My brother is still working for Disney so I'll be sure to tell him about this event!  
Great pictures!!!

Cheers

[Bobby41909]

Wow thanks for sharing.  Having Foose himself judge your car must've been kinda unnerving, yeah?

I was kinda nervous leading up to my turn to be judged.  I remember thinking...why am I so nervous, sure its Chip Foose but he's just a car guy like me (ok one with alot more skill and crazy famous)...HaHa
But he quickly put me at easy with the first few words he spoke to me.  As he looked over the car for a few minutes or so, he then started looking at his judging sheet and then up and around (like he was looking for the owner).  I looked back at him and started to walk in his direction, he came over and said "Are you the owner Bob Batz?" (which he pronounced wrong but I wasn't going to correct him) to which I said "yes", we then shock hands and the next thing he said to me would put any car owner at ease...."this is definitely the nicest General Lee I've ever seen and could be the nicest Charger"...  
After that we went over the details of the car and its restoration and he was very complimentary.  I originally thought he did that with everyone (and maybe he did to a certain extent) but I ended up getting 1st Place in Classics so perhaps his interest was genuine.

I can say that all the other owners felt the same way as I did about Chip which is that he is one of the nicest "celebrities" you'll ever meet!  He remember our names throughout the weekend and what cars we owned.  He also acted as if his time with you wasn't limited (even though he had 100 other cars to judge and two signings for the Disney partrons).  A classy guy they should make more of! IMO

[Bobby41909]

Wow, what a great event.  It's awesome that Disney does that.  My son would go crazy to see McQueen, Mater and Finn in 'real life'. 

Honestly, that's why I went.  My 3 year old son was in heaven meeting the real McQueen, Mater and Fin, and everything else Disney had going on.

I didn't think the General would be Chip's choice for the same reasons other members of this forum don't like General Lees.  Even with all the compliments I got from other car owners on the quality of the restoration, I still thought and kept telling them, Chip isn't to choose a General Lee over some of the other cars in my class (which was basically anything in the 1960 - 1980 time period) which were extremely nice.  Thankfully I was proven wrong! 

[Bobby41909]

Wow that is a huge deal man!  Chip Foose & all!

Congrats!  General looking good!

Coolest trophy ever as well!

Yeah, its the only trophy I've won (and I've got a few Best in Show and Best Mopar) that I brought to my office to display.  The others are displayed in my garage.  But with Chip Foose's vote of approval and Disney's classic style...this one goes to work with me!

[Memphis Mopar]

WOW!! congrats Bob. I was at Josh's shop to see the progress on my charger last Thursday and got to see your charger again! Must have been awesome to meet Chip Foose in person.

[Bobby41909]

WOW!! congrats Bob. I was at Josh's shop to see the progress on my charger last Thursday and got to see your charger again! Must have been awesome to meet Chip Foose in person.

Jason with Josh doing your restoration..you're NEXT!  Not sure if your Charger will be done by next year, we can hope. 

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Awesome pics and congrats! The charger looks great.   

[grdprx]

That's incredible!  Congratulations!  Beautiful looking Charger, I dig that trophy!   

[A383Wing]

I wanna go to "Cars Land"

Bryan

[tan top]

Wow that is a huge deal man!  Chip Foose & all!

Congrats!  General looking good!

Coolest trophy ever as well!

Yeah, its the only trophy I've won (and I've got a few Best in Show and Best Mopar) that I brought to my office to display.  The others are displayed in my garage.  But with Chip Foose's vote of approval and Disney's classic style...this one goes to work with me!

congratulations  , awesome stuff !! 

[BananaDan]

Wow, what a great event.  It's awesome that Disney does that.  My son would go crazy to see McQueen, Mater and Finn in 'real life'. 

Honestly, that's why I went.  My 3 year old son was in heaven meeting the real McQueen, Mater and Fin, and everything else Disney had going on.

I didn't think the General would be Chip's choice for the same reasons other members of this forum don't like General Lees.  Even with all the compliments I got from other car owners on the quality of the restoration, I still thought and kept telling them, Chip isn't to choose a General Lee over some of the other cars in my class (which was basically anything in the 1960 - 1980 time period) which were extremely nice.  Thankfully I was proven wrong! 

Your car looked great. Well done.

[bill440rt]

Congrats bro, that is incredible!! 
You must have felt great, that is definitely an honor. 

My kids would have flipped over the CARS characters, too. I remember when the first movie came out, the CARS road show came to my place of employment. The rig (Mack), McQueen, Mater, & Sally, all life-size. It was very cool.

Super-cool trophy, too! 

[charge69]

A very big congrats to you and your awesome general! I can see why he chose it a it is a fantastic replica of a GL.

You should be proud of yourself and your Charger and definitely have created some lasting memories for all! I am really glad to hear Chip Foose is such a nice guy in person. Really cannot tell on his show either way but figured he must be a nice person.

Congrats again on a job well done !!

[bordin34]

Congrats. I had no idea this was going on and I am in Disney this week.

[PocketThunder]

Excellent work my friend!   

[hemi68charger]

Pretty cool !!!  Love Disney World and to have a carshow there as well and bring home Mickey's trophy is icing on the cake..   

Thanks for sharing.....