Hogan autograph signing

I attended one years back. Get there as early as you can. People definitely line up in advance.

Some celebrities charge different prices between a magazine, DVD, 8x10, title, record cover, etc. Try to see in advance if he charges one price.

Thanks everyone and I’ll let you know how it goes!

Hogan is the man , it should be be a good one

Hi All,

I’m finally getting a chance to share my experience meeting Hogan at last weekend’s meet-and-greet.

My family and I originally were planning on vacationing this summer in the Northeast but pivoted to going to Orlando and Disney World. I’m so glad we changed our plans! I booked our trip from Saturday-to-Saturday. After a few weeks of booking our trip, I noticed that there would be a meet-and-greet at Hogan’s Orlando Beach House on the Saturday that we were leaving to go home. I thought this was too good to be true and if there ever was going to be a time for me to meet the Hulkster, then this was the time to do it. So, I purchased a ticket for the event, got a hotel for another night, and extended our vacation by a day.

Fast forward to Saturday, the signing was scheduled for 2-6 PM. I arrived at the Beach Shop around 12:20 and the line of people was already around the building. (In fact, I later found out that someone arrived as early as 9:30 AM to get in line.) I visited the Beach Shop for the very first time earlier this year while on a business trip, and I was concerned about where to park. Unbeknownst to me, I was pleasantly surprised that there was more parking in the back of the building. I parked and got in line at the back of the building. I struck up some good conversations with a couple of cool guys in line which helped the time go by fast. One guy and his son were from Pennsylvania. The other guy and his family were from Tennessee. The guy from Tennessee had met the Hulkster multiple times and this had become an annual tradition for him on his way to Daytona Beach every year. He has met Hogan at both the Orlando Beach Shop and the Clearwater Beach Shop, which according to him is smaller than the Orlando shop. He also said that Hogan showed up a little late last time and drove a black truck. Ron, who is actively involved with the Beach Shop management and he may even be an owner, was there saying hi to everyone and their team had water available which was great b/c it was very hot.

When 2:00 finally arrived, I started actively looking around to catch a glimpse of Hogan arriving. Finally, around 2:12, I saw a black truck driving through the adjacent Burger King lot, and I could see the handlebar mustache through the front window! I immediately started telling the guys around me that he was here. Hogan drove around to the back, could not find a parking spot, and rolled down the window and started talking to folks who started cheering and chanting Hogan. The line of course shifted to the back of the building so everyone could see the Hulkster. Finally, Hogan created a parking spot for himself. His truck has an NWO black license plate on the front which looks great on the black truck. Hogan got out, conversed a little bit, and then made his way through the back of the Beach Shop.

We all got back in our places in line. People had lots of cool items to get signed. For example, one guy had the green WWE belt with separate plates with all of the previous champions and looked great and felt like the real thing. I waited in line until around 3:30 when I finally got inside the beach shop. His employees checked everyone multiple times to make sure we all had tickets and I was checked one last time before entering the shop. The line wrapped around the inside of the shop, and I had about 17 people in front of me at this point. Hogan sat at a table, Ron sat across from him, and a few employees were taking pictures and video. Ron was making sure to keep the line going. One of the girls asked me to take my autograph item out of the bag so I would have it ready to sign. They definitely wanted to keep things moving and I don’t blame them as they still had a lot of people to get through the line. When I finally got my turn, I handed one of the girls at the beach shop my phone, and then preceded to shake the Hulkster’s hand and I can hardly remember what I said as I felt like I was a kid all over again! I gave him my Sports Illustrated and asked him if he sees the magazine much and he said not very often. He got back up and we got a photo together. After the posed picture, I shook the Hulkster’s hand again and thanked him. The entire greeting was probably no more than 30 seconds to a minute but totally worth seeing one of my childhood heroes. Ron was sitting at the table across from Hogan and helping him sign things and switch out pens, etc. I asked them to sign the Sports Illustrated with a white/silver paint pen and I’m glad I said something as it looks really great and shows up a lot more than the black pen he was originally going to sign it with. Special thanks to the girl who was taking pictures with our phones. She snapped several photos and got me shaking his hand as well. I was anticipating only getting a posed picture, so having more of the experience captured was a nice unexpected extra.
After I was done, I started shopping and got a shirt. As I was standing in the check out line, a guy who was decked out in black-and-white boas ripped into a promo. I got my phone out to record and caught part of the Hulkster responding and firing off a promo just a few feet away! That was pretty cool to catch. I finally left the beach shop around 4:00. The remaining line was still wrapped around the front of the building 2x and wrapped all around to the back still.

Overall, I’m so glad this worked out for me to meet Hogan. It was a great experience and totally worth it and created a memory of a lifetime. I was going to post some pics but can’t seem to figure out how to do that. Thanks for reading!

I've heard nothing but hilariously awful things about Ron Howard (not Opie).