I have been to both Carlisle and Spring Fling. They are probably the best two shows but they each have a different flavor.
Carlisle is massive. The parts section can easily take 6+ hours to walk through. The cars that are invited to be housed in the buildings are truly amazing. There are some pretty interesting cars in the car corral for sale. The reunions are fantastic. The only problem with Carlisle is the weather. If the weather is bad a lot of cars are left at home and the parts don't come out. It can be very muggy so bring water. If the weather is good it's incredible.
Spring Fling is really two different shows. Saturday is a larger swap with less cars. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to walk the swap. On Sunday is when the car judging is done so you get more cars and better cars. The great thing about Spring Fling is that the weather is almost always perfect. So turn out is pretty good.
It should be noted that both shows FEEL like they are getting smaller. Specially in the parts sections.
Actually the show car field count is always larger on Saturday. Last year 23.9% more Mopars Saturday than Sunday. In 2016; 22.1% more Saturday
It looks bigger Sunday because the cars are more spread out parked in classes. Also, the more you swap Saturday, the less time to look at show cars.
Perception is reality when it comes to these deals. Unless you physically count every car, swap, and tabulate every paid entry its hard to judge. We could spread Spring Fling over a larger location and I would appear bigger. Layout is a big factor.
