Another glorious and HOT day�
Today was the day of the infamous Meet and Greet Session, or as most of the old folks now call it, the Meet without Greet Session. For the most part, most of the passengers of the ship didn't assail Aaron for his autograph. This was mainly due in part to fact that Disney had scheduled a Meet and Greet Session for 1 hour on the last day of the cruise. We were even told that we would have opportunity at that time.
From the previous day's experience, people knew they had better get there early to assure a spot. A rumor (later proven to be untrue) had circulated that you had to be in the Buena Vista Theater on Deck 4 and in a seat or you couldn't meet him. The theater held about 300. Some families were there at 6 AM for 10 AM session. Many had family members bring in breakfast from the buffet so that they wouldn't loose their seat. This became quite a mess. Before they let Aaron in, they had stewards remove the fallout from the feeding frenzy.
At precisely 10 AM, the Disney staff arrived and introduced Aaron. He was his charming self as he sat at a table to begin. Jive/Zomba had VHS copies of the "Oh Aaron" video for signing, but only for kids (Darn!). Whatever�most people brought things with them for him to sign.
The session started well enough. Aaron signed, smiled, exchanged a few words, posed for a picture and on to the next. After dozen or so fans, the staff started to move people more quickly. Apparently, the theater had filled and there were people as far as you could see down the corridor of the deck. Someone did some time computations and the result was as follows. Aaron was signing away, people were lead up, got their autograph and maybe a word or two and were moved along. People got whatever pictures they could. Aaron tried very hard to accommodate people. The scene was reminiscent of a US Army induction physical. Many people, including staff were talking to him simultaneously and all he could say was "excuse me?" or "what?".
By the time I saw him, he didn't even have time to look up. He signed my eTicket for the canceled Salt Lake City concert of the Winter Tour. It had "Canceled, Sorry" written on it and he graciously signed it. In retrospect, it was too bad that I didn't have any blank checks or contracts on me (just kidding). When the fan got off the stage, they stamped your hand so that you could not return. When I left the theater, I could not believe the size of the line.
I later heard (or overheard) from Disney staffers that Aaron had signed something like 700 autographs in a little under 90 minutes. This time I did the math. Aaron had a little less than 8 seconds to meet his fan and sign the autograph. It does not seem to be quality time for either Aaron or the fan.
Needless to say, in conversations I had with people later, that this session did not set well with a lot of people, parents and fans alike. To my astonishment, many of them blamed Aaron. I could not believe it. It had nothing to do with him. I could see that he was being rushed and wasn't having a great time either. Aaron, in yet again another bad situation, tried his best to make it work.
This brings up the interesting subject of parents of fans (or just parents). For the most part, parents of fans have come to like Aaron and his music personally and enjoyed the cruise like the kids did. Other parents feel that Aaron "owed" their kid some special attention or time because of the amount of money they spent on the cruise or promises made and not kept by travel agents or other third parties. It is interesting that none of them could produce these promises in writing.
One of Aaron's staffers tried to assuage some really disgruntled people by trying to set up a special session with Aaron, if Jane would agree, but he said that it was doubtful since Aaron "knew" his schedule (smart kid!). It turned out that Jane wouldn't allow it because Aaron needed his time off, too. I couldn't agree more. It was amazing. These people were treating him like a commodity. Thank God his managers are also his parents.
I believe this was the end of any official duties that Aaron had and he could now join his family for the rest of the cruise.