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

Dec 18, 2020 by apost team

Eight-year-old Riley and her five-year-old sister Rylyn Dewiggins were with their mom picking up some groceries from Costco in Kapolei, Hawaii, when they realized that their cashier, William Va’ana, looks 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. Their sweet encounter from January 2018 was filmed and posted to YouTube by their mom and subsequently went viral.

A trip to Costco turned out to be one for the books for two little girls

It was just an ordinary day at Costco Kapolei. An eight-year-old Riley Dewiggins and her five-year-old sister Rylyn Dewiggins 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 is Maui! They spotted him. He was tall with a heavy build, and even had Maui's signature long locks of wavy hair. The girls were sure of themselves that they 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 has not wished for a beloved storybook character or cartoon creature to suddenly appear during playtime? Or hasn’t personally spoken to one of these characters?

apost.com

The girls could not stop smiling, reported People. They were so thrilled at the pleasant surprise of spotting Maui. After all, it is not every day that a Disney character rings up your mother’s groceries.

Just seeing Maui would have been enough, but that is 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.

“Each time my daughters come to Costco, they search for the "real life" Demigod, Maui,” the girls’ mom, Rella Rivera , wrote in the video description. “Will, featured in this video also does character appearances as Maui for parties and previously at Aulani Disney resort. Thank you, Will, for bringing a smile to our daughters' faces at each visit!”

It should come as no surprise that the sisters became repeat-customers at this Costco. It is 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.

"My favorite part is when he says 'chee hoo,'” Ryley told Hawaii News Now.

Costco Maui goes viral

To date, the video has garnered more than 5.3 million views and over 16,000 likes. But that is not all — Hawaii News Now announced for their year in review in 2018 that the video of Va’ana was their most popular of that year. And deservingly so!

"It's overwhelming, but it's cool just to see the kids smile [sic] they light up," Va’ana told Hawaii News Now in January 2019. "They come screaming. It's awesome."

Va’ana said that he did not intend to look like the demigod. "I've grown out my hair just to try something different and then after the movie, I was like, 'Wow, I kinda look like that guy,” the then-33-year-old explained. He did not even realize he went viral until his colleagues told him at work the next day. “I'm not that great on phones honestly. I'm barely on social media," Vaana said. "I came to work yesterday and everybody was like, 'Eh, you went viral.' I'm like, 'OK. What does that mean?" We highly suspect Va’ana to be Maui himself, or at least the reincarnation of him. Because we’re pretty sure Maui is not good with technology, either.

Va’ana’s health troubles

Sadly, after about a year and a half since the video of Va’ana was posted, it was announced on his Instagram that Va’ana was diagnosed with a rare brain disease called Moyamoya. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Moyamoya disease is caused by arteries located at the base of the brain being blocked. The name of the disease means “puff of smoke,” in Japanese and the incidence of the disease is more prevalent in Asian countries than in other countries. It is also more common in children. “Posting on behalf of William Va’ana! Asking for prayer mercies over William (a.k.a. Maui) Va’ana as he goes in for brain surgery on Tuesday,” wrote someone from Va’ana’s family on January 13th, 2020.

“In May of 2019, he was diagnosed with a very rare brain disease called Moyamoya.” Two days later, an update was given saying that his surgery had gone smoothly. On January 20th, 2020, another update on his Instagram explained that he was well on his road to recovery:

“Update: William is doing great. Surgery is healing & his memory is coming back slowly, as this is a normal process. We hit a set back, but like the champ that he is, he’s back up and fighting! Please continue to pray for him & we want to thank you for the many texts, emails, food drop-offs & visits. We love you all for that. But for now, Maui needs to rest as much as Tefiti did 😂”

The Legend of Maui

The story of “the demigod of the wind and sea,” is not solely about Hawaii. According to tourmaui.com, the legend of Maui is estimated to be over 1000 years old. His legacy is spread throughout Polynesia and he wields a powerful fish hook that helps him shapeshift into different animals. He is also known for his mischief and his antics were responsible for regularly angering the gods. As a trickster, legend says that Maui was very rarely worshipped but treated as more of like a folk hero.  

It's to no surprise that William Va'ana was mistaken for Maui by the Dewiggins sisters — not only did William physically resemble the strength of the legend, he is now embodying it as well through his strength in post-surgery recovery. We truly wish that William gets all of the rest and time to recover that he needs. 

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.