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Aulani Character Schedule + the Scoop on Meet & Greets

Most of my life I’ve pretty much been known for loving two things 1) Disney and 2) Hawaii. 

So when Disney built its Aulani Resort and Spa in Hawaii, it’s like they were building it just for ME. And it’s since become my home away from home. I mean really…Disney AND Hawaii. What could be better???

I’ve written quite a few posts about Aulani (read through my archives here), but this particular post is all about…meeting characters at Aulani. 

Did you even go to Disneyland if you didn’t meet Mickey and Minnie? Well, in Hawaii it’s more like…did you even go to Aulani if you didn’t meet DUFFY AND SHELLIE MAY??!

Aulani Characters

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More about Duffy and Friends in a bit, but yes, meeting characters at Aulani is a whole thing. While Aulani is more subtle Disney than the parks, one of the big Disney parts of it is being able to meet your favorite characters!

This post is a round up of all the FAQs I get about meeting characters at Aulani including which characters are “on vacation” at Aulani, and what the schedule is. And this info is anecdotal from one or two trips. I have compiled data from the daily character schedule for almost a year now!

Ok, let’s go!

Which Characters Meet at Aulani? 

There are 14 characters that make appearances at Aulani:

  • Mickey Mouse
  • Minnie Mouse
  • Goofy
  • Pluto
  • Donald Duck
  • Daisy Duck
  • Chip ‘n Dale
  • Max (from A Goofy Movie)
  • Moana
  • Stitch
  • Angel (from Lilo & Stitch TV Show)
  • Duffy
  • Shellie May
  • Olu Mel

The classic Mickey & Friends characters and the Duffy & Friends characters all wear special “aloha outfits” that are exclusive to Aulani.

Where Do Characters Meet at Aulani

There are a few places you’ll find characters around the resort:

  1. The Makahiki Character breakfast is a great spot to meet Mickey Mouse and a few of his pals. Mickey does meet and greets on the lanai before you’re seated and then a trio of characters (usually Minnie, Pluto & Goofy) come around to your table as you have your breakfast.
  2. The Aulani luau features brief appearances by Moana plus Mickey & Minnie although there are no meet and greets.
  3. There are character meet and greets throughout the resort everyday that work just like they do at Disney parks.

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Aulani Character Schedule

There is a schedule for character meet and greets at Aulani, but unlike at the Disney parks, it’s not predictably the same every day. And actually, the schedule isn’t posted until about 8-9AM each morning.

When I first started visiting Aulani, the only way to find the schedule was to call an extension from a resort phone and listen to a prerecorded listing of the times and locations. That’s still an option (you’ll find the number listed in the Daily ‘Iwa) plus a lot of cast members have a copy of the schedule that they can check for you.

But last year they started posting the daily schedule on the Aulani app! It still only posts that specific days schedule so you can’t know what the schedule will be in advance for your trip, BUT I decided to start collecting data on the character schedules as a little experiment.

Basically, I just wanted to know what the odds were of meeting the Duffy & Friends characters on my next trip ; ) (It used to be so rare!)

So for the last 8 months or so I’ve been tracking the character schedules to see if there are any patterns. There are!

I’ll post each month’s schedule below so you can look over them specifically (and I’m still tracking the schedules every day and will add them each month), but here are some observations I’ve made so far:

Mickey Mouse meets pretty much every day (some months there is a day here and there where he’s not on the schedule).

There are only a handful of days each month where Moana, Stitch & Minnie don’t appear. They’re regulars.

Goofy, Pluto, Chip ‘n Dale, Donald, Daisy, and Max rotate in and out. They don’t each meet every day, but it’s often. Goofy and Pluto appear more frequently but the rest are still out over half the days each month. And the way they’re spaced it should be easy to meet all of them even if you’re only there for 3-4 days.

Duffy, Shellie May, and Olu Mel don’t meet as often, but they still meet regularly (SOOOOOO much more often than they used to). If you’re staying at Aulani for a week, your odds of getting to meet all three are pretty good.

Angel (Stitch’s pink friend from the TV series) meets about as often as Duffy and Friends. Probably 10ish times a month on average.

Santa Claus makes an appearance on Christmas Eve.

The schedules seem to fluctuate seasonally with more characters appearing during busier seasons and more frequent appearances by Duffy & Friends and Angel during times when Japanese tourism is higher.

Character meet and greets usually start between 9AM-10AM and wrap up by 5PMish but some days they don’t start until closer to noon and go all the way until 8PM.

If a character is on the schedule for the day, they’ll have at least two appearance times (usually more).

The schedule is supposed to be posted in the app by 9AM every morning, but it’s not always the most reliable. Sometimes it’s not posted until closer to 10AM and sometimes it doesn’t get posted at all (days on the schedule marked N/A mean the schedule didn’t get posted that day). But the number you call to hear the recording is always posted on time and it’s supposed to be updated more in live time in case of rain, etc.

The locations for each meet and greet are listed on the schedule. Some of them are in places where they’re easily seen but some are a bit more off the beaten path. If you don’t know exactly where a location is, ask a cast member and they’ll point you in the right direction.

On rainy days, sometimes they move meet and greets inside to one of the ballrooms or other covered areas instead of just canceling them.

You’re technically supposed to have a wristband to meet the characters (it’s not always checked), but if it’s a character that you’re REALLY wanting to meet, I would make sure you have your bands instead of getting turned away at the last minute and missing the time slot.

January 2024 Aulani Character Schedule

 

December 2023 Aulani Character Schedule

November 2023 Aulani Character Schedule

October 2023 Aulani Character Schedule

September 2023 Aulani Character Schedule

August 2023 Aulani Character Schedule

July 2023 Aulani Character Schedule

June 2023 Aulani Character Schedule

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Who Are Duffy & Friends? 

If you know, you know and if you don’t, well then let me introduce you!

Duffy and Friends are a set of Disney characters that are wildly popular in Disney’s Asian parks. Duffy technically made his first appearance in Epcot in 2010 but he never gained any popularity stateside.

But Duffy & Friends are now a thing. I think of them as Disney’s answer to Hello Kitty. They’re cute little stuffed animals (all with their own backstories) and in the Asia parks (and now Aulani!) you can buy absolutely everything you can imagine with their faces on it.

Let me break it down for you:

1) Duffy is Mickey’s teddy bear. Mickey was going on a long trip and Minnie made the bear for Mickey to take with him. She put him in Mickey’s duffel bag aaaaand…Duffy was born!

2) Shellie May is Minnie’s teddy bear. Duffy’s BFF. She has blue eyes and a large bow and she’s my favorite ; )

3) Gelatoni is a cat that Duffy met on his travels. He wears a beret and paints with his tail (with gelato of course).

4) Stella Lou is a purple bunny ballerina that dreams of dancing on a Broadway stage.

5) Cookie Ann is a yellow puppy with a passion for the culinary arts (and the color pink!), AND

6) Olu Mel is a ukulele playing turtle who is the first of Duffy’s friends to be exclusive to Aulani!

If you’re scratching your head, remember…it’s a “thing.”

Even though Duffy never originally had much popularity in the US parks, in the last five or so years they’ve started gaining a fandom among millennials and the younger generation. These characters are SUPER popular in Asia and since Hawaii has so many Japanese visitors, Aulani has been the place they’ve been testing the waters regarding Duffy and Friends in the US.

They’ve started selling their merchandise at the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World, but other than that, Aulani is the only play in the US to find Duffy and Friends merchandise AND meet the friends.

Currently, you can only meet Duffy, Shellie May, and Olu Mel at Aulani, but you can find merch for the whole gang in the gift shop.

Here’s an insider tip: Even if you’re not that into Duffy and his friends, if you see on the schedule that they’ll be meeting during your trip, walk over and just watch all of the interactions. The Asian guests get sooooo excited to meet these characters (not to mention it’s some of the best character interaction I’ve ever witnessed-Shellie May in particular) that it is high key entertaining.

Want to read more posts about Aulani? I’ve got plenty!

P.S. If you want to follow along on my travel adventures in real time, you can follow me on Instagram (@caitylincoln). My post captions are full of travel tips and I have a ton of story highlights and videos with great info. And share my account with your travel loving friends! Your support really helps me keep this blog running!