2008 Rally - Branson, Missouri - June 12-15, 2008 - General Thread

[jbeletti]

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Hi all,

We have locked in the 2008 International Heartland Owners Rally location as Branson, Missouri. We'll hold the rally at the Branson KOA. John and Sue Morgan gave both America's Best Campground (ABC) and the KOA a good eyes-on review and reported their findings back to me. I chose the KOA as it seemed to be a better fit for our group.

As with the 2006 and 2007 International rallies held in Goshen, Indiana, this rally will also officially begin on a Thursday and end the following Sunday. Three nights of camping will be included in the rally fee.

Pre and Post rally camping will be available at a rate of $29 per night plus tax.

Everything else about the rally is under development. Stay tuned to this thread and later, to the rally website for details as they develop. For now, please "SAVE THE DATE" if it works for you.

Jim

PS: I closed the 2 early rally location discussion threads in this forum so that new discussion about this rally could be contained within this new thread and other new threads, now that the date and location have been determined.

 

[iefpro01]

OH YEAH! Branson is a great place! If I can - there is no way I will miss this one.

 

[iefpro01]

OH -A question - we have a family "RV BUDDY" that travels with us a lot. They are not Heartland owners - could they still come? Or would you guys throw things at them and call them names? LOL...

 

[jbeletti]

iefpro01,

Do your buddies stay with you in your rig or do they bring their own SOB (some other brand)?

If they are staying in your rig, they can be added as guests to your rally unit for the "additional guests" fee.

If they travel in their SOB, then they'd be at the wrong rally. That said, they could certainly stay at the same CG and hang with you guys. They just would not be included in the Heartland Owners specific activities. Especially anything that was built into the rally fee.

Does that make sense?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[iefpro01]

Yes - they have an SOB class C. We trael together a lot. We wre in Branson last Christmas with them. LOL - maybe we can pretend they are staying with us...

 

[jbeletti]

iefpro01,

I'd say they can stay at the KOA on a non-rally site and can hang around with you guys except when you are at rally attendee only events. But let's go ahead and let this rest for now and we can develop this further next year.

Jim

 

[JJAK17]

So Branson next year. That works good for us. We have family in the Branson area. Two birds with one stone.

Jason

 

[jbeletti]

Yepper - Branson it is. Never been there. Looking forward to it.

Jim

 

[JJAK17]

It is nice. There are a lot of things to do there (both young and old). I am glad that it is in June. We have been there in July/August and it is HOT! Well at least too hot for us Wisconsinites.
As it gets closer I can post some things that people may be interested in doing while there.

 

[Forrest Fetherolf]

Stayed in Branson 2 nights @ City of Branson Lakeside RV. last October.
This rv park was 5er friendly. We checked out several others, no way would my 38' 5er make the turns or even get level.

Branson is an old town with a rapidly growing population and many visitors. I would guess that at least two weeks of going and doing would allow you enough time to see a good portion of the activities.

Even in late October the traffic was a nightmare, if I'm complaining, it must be really bad, I live in Los Angeles with the worlds largest parking lots known as "freeways". Highway 76 is the main street through Branson, good for sight seeing, at times we would have to wait for 5 signal changes to get through the intersection.

It is a fun town and lots of entertainment.

 

[JJAK17]

Stayed in Branson 2 nights @ City of Branson Lakeside RV. last October.
This rv park was 5er friendly. We checked out several others, no way would my 38' 5er make the turns or even get level.

Branson is an old town with a rapidly growing population and many visitors. I would guess that at least two weeks of going and doing would allow you enough time to see a good portion of the activities.

Even in late October the traffic was a nightmare, if I'm complaining, it must be really bad, I live in Los Angeles with the worlds largest parking lots known as "freeways". Highway 76 is the main street through Branson, good for sight seeing, at times we would have to wait for 5 signal changes to get through the intersection.

It is a fun town and lots of entertainment.

I would have to second the traffic. We have found some short cuts to get around the traffic but it can be very bad.

 

[iefpro01]

I have been to Branson twice. Stayed in a Class C the first time. Second time we stayed in a motel. Some comments:

1) Traffic can be bad - but heck it isn’t very far to anything, so just relax and don’t worry about it. LOL
2) I would suggest that we make early reservations for shows. That way you can get up close - if not the front two rows. That really is special. There is a lot of interaction between the first two rows and the singers. Maybe start a thread for the shows folks like the best when they were in Branson.
3) I would like to suggest one dinner at Lamberts Cafe in South Springfield - not far from Branson; we always stop there even if we are just passing through. Lots of fun and good food. http://www.throwedrolls.com/

 

[lwfox002]

Branson has many access roads now that bypass Hwy76. You just have to know the map and watch for signs. And yes the traffic is heavy during the tourist season. Also, two weeks might get you to see about 70% of the sights. Growth is wild up there. We live about 4.5 hours away and make at least two trips up a year, although not with our 5er. We usually stay in a hotel. Maybe not anymore.

 

[jcd8822]

We have wanted to go to Branson now we have a good reason. We will be there.

Joseph

 

[navyAZ1]

iefpro01,

I'd say they can stay at the KOA on a non-rally site and can hang around with you guys except when you are at rally attendee only events. But let's go ahead and let this rest for now and we can develop this further next year.

Jim

We were Crossroads Cruiser owners prior to buying our Big Horn, already had reservations made for the CrossRoads Rally in August when we made the trade for our BH. Contacted the rally organizer and asked for a refund of my money and they invited us to still come and have fun with our CrossRoads friends plus they allowed my Sister and Brother-in-Law who wanted to come also to come and have a good time with us and they have a Truck Camper and will never change from it. I would think that if you have a Heartland owner coming to your rally and they would like to bring a friend even if they have a different RV brand as long as they pay the fee they should be allowed. We were planning on coming to the Heartland rally next year and I know my Sister would like to come also but if this is the attitude than I don't believe we will bother. I grew up about 35 miles west of Branson and really enjoy returning there. I would think you would allow people with SOB's in hopes they might want to switch to the Heartland Brand. We love our BH but don't know if I'm interested in a Rally with such restrictions think I'll ask about this when I'm at the factory this August for a tour.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

For what it's worth, I agree with navyAZ1. Why not allow other brands. If they have any interest in Heartlands at all it could sway them to become owners. This is of course assuming they would be paying the same rally fee as the rest of us. We also belong to a Suzuki motorcycle club but we have more members that own SOB's than Suzukis and they are great people. They just need some schooling on their bike choice. "Kidding"

 

[gawelsh]

I certainly appreciate the "come one, come all" philosophy. However, the Heartland Rallies wouldn't be the communal events that they are if we all brought friends and families along. We'd all tend to hang out with our buddies and wouldn't mingle and meet other Owners with the same abandonment In addition, there were 158 owners at the recent Rally in Goshen. The events, from meals to bus tour, were choreographed perfectly to accomodate everyone without any glitches. This would be much more difficult if again, we all brought friends and family.

NONE of this is about "attitude". I've never met a more welcoming and friendly group of people , with Jim and Nancy at the top of the list. They support this Forum and the Rallies because they want to. And feel free to discuss your feelings with the Factory, but here's what they'll tell you : the Owners Rally is just that....it's all done by Owners for Owners. The Factory is very involved and supportive and gets deserved high praise for their involvement. But it isn't "their" Rally - it's ours.

Please consider joining in all future Rallies . They're WONDERFUL . And, as Jim says, ask your friends to join you, within the very reasonable parameters that he's outlined. It can be a win-win for all !!!

 

[katkens]

I certainly appreciate the "come one, come all" philosophy. However, the Heartland Rallies wouldn't be the communal events that they are if we all brought friends and families along. We'd all tend to hang out with our buddies and wouldn't mingle and meet other Owners with the same abandonment In addition, there were 158 owners at the recent Rally in Goshen. The events, from meals to bus tour, were choreographed perfectly to accomodate everyone without any glitches. This would be much more difficult if again, we all brought friends and family.

NONE of this is about "attitude". I've never met a more welcoming and friendly group of people , with Jim and Nancy at the top of the list. They support this Forum and the Rallies because they want to. And feel free to discuss your feelings with the Factory, but here's what they'll tell you : the Owners Rally is just that....it's all done by Owners for Owners. The Factory is very involved and supportive and gets deserved high praise for their involvement. But it isn't "their" Rally - it's ours.

Please consider joining in all future Rallies . They're WONDERFUL . And, as Jim says, ask your friends to join you, within the very reasonable parameters that he's outlined. It can be a win-win for all !!!

I would have to concur- its a benefit to the owners from Heartland. My last Rv Rallies were the same way owners only. Come and make some NEW friends. ---Ken

 

[navyAZ1]

I see everyone's point and we do plan to be there next year. Didn't mean to ruffle the feathers, just making a comment. Rally's are really cool and a lot of fun. Not wanting everyone to think I'm one of these complainers just think some things need to be pointed out I also believe in pointing out things when somebody does a good job and I believe Jim is doing just that. See Ya at the Rally in Branson!

 

[gawelsh]

Sounds good to us - we've never been to Branson and are looking forward to it !!