Garmin Holiday Bundles

What are the Garmin Holiday Bundles?

Phil

I suspect these add-on voice/vehicle bundles are no longer available. Garmin has removed the capability to download them from Garmin Express also. Express calls it the Garmin Store, but I don't think the bundles are there any more even if you give it a payment method. If you pick the Vehicles and Voices category in the store, you just get a "Feature not available" message.

I get nothing from the Garmin Store, just a blank screen. Used to have all kinds of Vehicle Options for D/L................

I forgot all about these. The kids really enjoyed hearing them on the way to Grandma's house for Christmas. Sorry to learn they aren't available anymore.

Sounds like a possible POI file project. A lot of work initially but would only need to be updated once a year.

This is the first I am hearing of this. Too bad it is no longer available.

The "Elfred" voice used to give directions and make random coments whilst navigating.

I'm curious. What kind of POI file do you have in mind. I'd consider taking it on.

Phil

I once put the snarky elf voice on my wife's GPS and then forgot about it. She didn't use the thing (she rarely does)for quite some time and then was traveling with co-workers and was surprised by the voice. D'Oh!

I still have a copy of the Elfred.vpm voice file from an old backup of my nuvi 755T if anyone wants it. It is dated 11/26/2008, size is 9745 KB. I do not have any of the vehicles or other items that were in that original holiday bundle. It was apparently a free version because I never purchased any of the bundles.

I thought a list of popular local holiday related places would be of interest to those travelling during the holiday season.

For example, in the Scranton, PA area we have the "Haunted Mansion", a very well done haunted house which opens for Halloween every year. We have "Roba's Tree Farm", a local business that puts on displays for the harvest season along with hay rides. The City of Scranton puts on a drive thru Christmas light display in Nay Aug Park which has become quite popular in northeast PA. Of course "Santa's Village" in North Pole NY draws a large crowd every Christmas. I could add a half dozen more regular seasonal attractions like this in my area.

Since these places are not operated year round and mostly advertise locally, they are difficult to search out on the internet. I'm sure other Factory members in different parts of the country could offer suggestions for similar poi's in their areas. The file would have to be coordinated by one or more members using posts to this thread or through personal messaging.

Annual file updates could be an issue though since they would rely on input from many members. There would be no easy way for a single member to update these attractions since they tend to come and go.

I don't know if this is possible but maybe a file could be created with open write permission that would allow any member make additions or changes??

Anyway, these are just some thoughts I have.

bdhsfz6, interesting thoughts, but like you said, there are a lot of drawbacks to the project. One drawback I can think of is that many seasonal attractions are migratory. That is, they may rent a storefront for a month before an event this year and be somewhere else, or even nowhere else, next year. Seems like an awful lot of work for a somewhat limited market.

Phil

I have Dr. Nightmare voice and about 127 different vehicles.

I have a couple of the vehicles on my older Garmin and bought my Mom a new one this Christmas. I too was disturbed when I found out you could no longer download vehicles. I connected my Garmin to the computer and traveled down through the root directory of the Garmin to the Vehicle folder. I was able to copy all my downloaded vehicles to a folder on my desktop and then move them over to my Mom's newer Garmin 2599LMT. The vehicles work great.

I was also able to find a site on the internet to download vehicles to the folder on my desktop and transfer them to my Garmin and my Moms.

Here is the site. They are srf files and download in a zip file. I scanned the zip file each time and they were virus free.

Here is the site. http://www.vehiclesforgarminnuvi.com/

Hope it helps.

XC70 Ninja

hello, Can i please have that backup of that GPS nuvi? I really would like the Elfred.vpm file and it is not avalible anywhere else, Thank You!

See https://www.garmin.com/us/products/ontheroad/voicestudio

Sorry, but this is not what i am looking for, I'm looking for the Elfred VPM file.

Seems like they don't have as much to download now.

The comic voice files were created several years ago and worked quite well with the 3 digit Garmin models. They also worked with some of the early 1XXX models but I don't know if they would work with the later models as the voice engine that interprets the files has probably changed to make the voices clearer and correct many pronunciation mistakes. I went from an 885 which handled Dr. Nightmare to a 3597 and didn't transition the voice. One of the issues I remember with the voices were the turn announcements. I don't remember what the exact differences were but it had something to do with when and how upcoming turns were announced. The voices also didn't do street names as they were released shortly before that feature was incorporated into the map releases.

I have a copy of Elfred.vpm. If you want to PM me with your email address, I will send it as an attachment. The file size is 9745 KB.

Are yoy suggesting a list of places like this in AZ?

-111.926431. 33.338119. 1001 East El Freda Road, Tempe,AZ
Tempe couple love both Christmas and Halloween, pretty much equally. So back in 2017, when they were deciding how to decorate their newly built home for both holidays, they drew inspiration from another of their favorite things: the Disney animated classic The Nightmare Before Christmas. “Our main reason for the theme is that my husband and I love both Halloween and Christmas and that the two holidays can collide,” Collaborating with the artists of local company Therascapes Design, the Browns’ 5,885-square-foot residence became a merry and macabre tribute to the film. Multiple characters from film (such as Sally, Jack Skellington, and the trio of Lock, Shock, and Barrel) and a mix of both Christmas and Halloween-style elements, like monstrous wreaths and a spooky-looking Toys for Tots donation box, decorate the place. The entire front of the house resembles an enormous beast with second-story windows that look like eyes and a porch resembling a toothy maw.
The couple has added a few new elements to the display for this year’s holiday season, including interactive wooden boxes shaped like houses representing various holidays that were similar to those seen in the flick. They also have a life-sized recreation of a headless horseman.
“Each year we plan to add a little more,” Jessica says. “Basically the mood of the house changes [between Halloween and Christmas].” All of the big pieces stay the whole season. The lighting changes. A few more Santa hats pop up. But for the most part we stick to the Nightmare Before Christmas theme.” Basically, the display is both frightening and festive, just like the film that inspired it.
Operates nightly from sunset until 10 p.m. through January 1.

Happy Holidays.

Extra vehicles and voices are still available at least from Garmin Malaysia

Vehicles:
https://www.garmin.com.my/vehicles/

Some voices too, including an Elfred Voice

https://www.garmin.com.my/vehicles/voice/

I had thought these were lost to us a few years ago. Thanks for sharing your great find.

I just finished a 102 POI file of Christmas lights displays around the Phoenix area with times, amount of lights, and descriptions of them. Many are on till Jan 1
If you are visiting "The VALLEY OF THE SUN" for holiday sports it is something to do. Many of these are annual so next year all I will have to do is update.