Entertainment

These Sisters Thought Their Cashier Was Maui From 'Moana,' & His Reaction Was FLAWLESS

by AnnaMarie Houlis

I'd argue that all trips to Costco are exciting — there are loads of limitless free food samples around every corner and the chain always has incredibly enticing storewide sales on anything you'd ever need. But sisters, Ryley and Rylyn, probably look forward to going to Costco a little bit more than the rest of shoppers. Their mother recently shared a video on YouTube of their check-out experience when the two Disney fans thought their cashier was Maui from Moana — and his reaction was priceless.

Ryley and Rylyn got super excited when they saw the demigod lookalike at a Costo in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to Babble. Sure, it might seem a bit racist to assume a brown dude is the real-life Maui, but they're kids and he actually is a Maui impersonator at Disney's Aulani resort in Hawaii, according to the caption of the video Rella Rivera, the girls' mother, shared to YouTube.

"Each time my daughters come to Costco, they search for the 'real life' Demi god, Maui," Rivera captioned the video. "Thank you ,will, for bringing a smile to our daughters faces at each visit!"

The cashier is actually a person by the name of William Va’ana, Rivera told People. She reportedly said that her daughters go to Costco often with their father and are always happy to see him.

"It brought so much joy to my face to see how excited the girls were," Rivera told People. "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."

Rivera and her daughters aren't the only ones who have noticed a resemblance. She told Babble that she has witnessed others approach Va’ana during his shift at Costco and that it’s awesome that he chooses to stay in character for them.

Commenters on the video loved his reaction, too. "This is so cute!" one wrote. "So glad to have something positive trending on the internet! And cheers to Will for being a great sport." Another said, "The manager of that Costco should pay that guy a little more each shift."

Others also agreed that they thought Va’ana looked like a real-life Maui. In fact, one Facebook commenter wrote on a post that Rivera shared about the experience: "We too found Will aka Maui and Moana around Sept-Oct time frame!! great he got noticed!! 💕"

In case you haven't seen what's arguably one of the most feminist Disney movies ever (with the most Karaoke-worthy soundtrack), Moana is the story of a fearlessly adventurous 16-year-old who hates being called a princess and is curious about the world beyond the reef — more so than the people on her island who she thinks have become too complacent. When the island starts slowly dying, she sets sail on a bold mission to save her people while wrangling demigod Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, no less) to guide her on her action-packed quest to cross the open ocean and return a stone he'd stolen that could save humankind. Moana offers respite from the traditional Disney narrative because at its center is a daring woman of color whose story has nothing to do with finding love. It's a story of defiance and independence; it's intersectional third-wave feminism in a kid's movie; it's brilliant.

So if you needed more of an excuse to shop at Costco, if not for the pizza or French wine (according to BuzzFeed, Costo is the largest importer of French wines in the United States — who knew?), this just might be your reason. Oh! Also, according to BuzzFeed, Costco boasts a travel program with discounted trips to places like Disney World where you can go meet other real-life characters.

Costco run? CHEE-HOO!

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