Sisters Mistake Grocery Store Cashier For Maui From ‘Moana’ So He Decides To Play Along

Nov 24, 2020 by apost team

Eight-year-old Riley Rivera and her 5-year-old sister of Oahu, Hawaii were with their mom picking up some groceries from Costco in 2018 when they realized that their cashier, William Va’ana, looked just like Maui from Disney's Moana. They smiled, squealed, and even joined in with the cashier saying Maui’s trademark “Chee-hoo.” The cashier did his best impersonation of the movie character as he acted for the children.

It was just an ordinary day at Costco. Eight-year-old Riley Rivera and her 5-year-old sister were with their mom picking up some groceries. They had finished their shopping trip and were about to check out when the unexpected happened. It’s Maui! They spotted him. He was tall, had tan skin, and even had his signature long, wavy locks. There was no doubt about it; the girls had found Maui working as a Costco cashier.

Childhood is a time of magic and play where the lines between reality and fantasy are often blurred. What child hasn’t wished for a beloved storybook character or cartoon creature to suddenly appear during playtime? What child hasn’t personally spoken to one of these characters? The girls couldn’t stop smiling, reports People. They were so thrilled at the pleasant surprise of spotting Maui. After all, a Disney character doesn’t ring up your mother’s groceries every day.

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Just seeing Maui would’ve been enough, but that’s not where the fun ends. William Va’ana, the cashier who looks like Maui, joined the girls in his signature cheer: “Chee-hoo!” He even did his best to raise the pitch of his voice to sound just like in the movie. The girls giggled really hard and enjoyed every moment of it.

It should come as no surprise that the sisters are now repeat-customers at this Costco. It’s their favorite place to shop with either parent, reports People. Every time he sees them, Va’ana is happy to play the Maui role for them.

“It brought so much joy to my face to see how excited the girls were. Before I could get my phone out to video, he had already let out a loud ‘chee-hoo.’ And the girls lit up even more,” the girls’ mother, Rella Rivera, told People in 2018. Rivera is a well-known Hawaiian radio personality.

“He’s so awesome for doing that,” Rivera added. “There were pictures posted in the comments of other kids who have pointed him out in Costco and he was nice enough to take pictures with them as well.”

For those who don't know, the animated Disney film Moana tells the story of a Polynesian village in danger. After the villagers' crops die and they can no longer catch any fish, the bold daughter of the villager's chief, Moana, sets out on an adventure to save her people. Eventually, she learns that the demigod Maui, which is who Riley and her sister thought Va’ana was, is responsible for her village's hardships, and so Moana spends much of the movie trying to convince the powerful demigod to set things right.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose grandfather actually offered partial inspiration for the character, voiced Maui in the 2016 movie — but now it looks like he has some competition!

“When I watched the movie, I didn’t think much about it,” Va’ana said in an interview with Inside Edition (additionally published by Yahoo). “But then, you know the kids would catch on and see me in Maui and assume it themselves. So, if they assumed it themselves then I would just play the part.”

“I play along with the kids; It’s fine," Va’ana added. "I am at work. It makes my job easier to play along and just to have a good time with the kids. They are smiling, I am smiling.”

According to Inside Edition, Va’ana has since begun to appear at children's parties as Maui, and so far he's been to over 50 celebrations. 

“It’s fun — it’s mainly for the kids," Va'ana told Inside Edition. "I love interacting with kids and making them laugh and making memories."

Since the video of Va'ana went viral in January of 2018, multiple news outlets have picked up the story, and other children have made the connection between Va’ana and his Disney character look-alike. As of 2020, the original video has over 5 million views and 16,000 likes.

Va’ana is an example of an everyday person displaying extraordinary character as he does his job. Have you met someone who looks like a real-life Disney character? Tell us about it in the comments, and be sure to pass this story along to your friends and family.