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??!

This post may contain some affiliate links, which means I’ll make a little money on anything you choose to purchase. But of course, I only recommend my absolute favorites to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that make HulaLand possible.

Aulani Characters

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:

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.
The Aulani luau features brief appearances by Moana plus Mickey & Minnie although there are no meet and greets.
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 Oahu? I’ve got plenty!

My Favorite Things to Do on Oahu // Things to Do in Waikiki // 5 Day Oahu Itinerary // Oahu North Shore Guide // Oahu Windward Coast (Kailua) Guide // Easy Hikes on Oahu

My Favorite Boutique Hotels in Waikiki // Where to Stay on Oahu Besides Waikiki // The Laylow Review

The Best Luaus (and the Worst) on Oahu // Paradise Cove Luau Review // Is the Polynesian Cultural Center Worth It? // Paradise Cove vs Polynesian Cultural Center

Where Locals Eat in Waikiki // Jurassic Park at Kualoa Ranch // Shangri La and the Honolulu Museum of Art // Tips for Visiting Pearl Harbor

Tips for Staying at Aulani // Is Aulani Worth It? // How Many Days to Spend at Aulani // Aulani Character Schedule // Ka Wa’a Luau Review // Things to Do Near Aulani (in Ko Olina) // Where to Eat Near Aulani

Everything You Need to Know BEFORE You Go to Oahu

Here’s one more really important thing you need to know before your Hawaii trip…

Reservations You Need to Make BEFORE Your Hawaii Trip

You’ve got your airfare, hotel, rental car and your big activities booked, so you should be good to go, right? Wrong!

Travel is BOOMING in Hawaii so a lot of state and national parks used the closure and reopening to institute reservation systems at some of the island’s most popular spots to make things a little more sustainable.

That means that there are now over half a dozen sites (beaches, trailheads, etc.) that require advance reservations. And some sell out well before you arrive on the island so you really need to have some sort of a plan.

I recently saw somebody in a Hawaii travel group post in a panic that they didn’t know they had to make reservations for things in advance…they thought they could just show up and “go with the flow.” I was tempted to say, well, “as long as the flow doesn’t take you somewhere that requires reservations, you can!” ; )

But I don’t want YOU to be that person, so I’ve pulled together a list of all the places you need to reserve entry in advance (plus all the details on booking windows, price, links, etc.) and a handful of popular tourist hotspots that book out really far in advance too.

Haleakala National Park (Maui)

To visit Haleakala National Park for sunrise at the summit, you must make reservations in advance here.

Reservations are required to enter the park gates between 3AM and 7AM (sunrise hours).

Online reservations are $1 per reservation/vehicle PLUS you’ll pay the park entrance fee of $30/vehicle when you arrive (National Park annual passes are also accepted at the gate).

The reservation booking window opens 60 days in advance at 7AM HST. There are also a limited number of tickets released two days before.

You can make one reservation every three days with the same account. So if you want to make reservations for back to back days (in case of weather/conditions), you’ll need to do so with separate accounts (email addresses).

If you can’t get reservations for sunrise, you can enter the park anytime after 7AM without reservations. The summit is spectacular during the day and you don’t need reservations for sunset.

I strongly recommend creating an account before and making sure you’re logged in at 7AM HST because it’s not uncommon for reservations to sell out quickly.

Waianapanapa State Park (Maui)

To visit Maui’s famous black sand beach at Waianapanapa State Park on the Road to Hana, you must make reservations in advance here.

Reservations are required to visit the beach and are distributed in windows from 7AM-10AM, 10AM-12:30PM, 12:30PM-3PM, and 3PM-6PM. And they are pretty strict about exiting by the end of your window time (you can arrive anytime within your window).

It’s $5/person to enter plus $10/vehicle to park and those fees are paid when you book your time slot.

Reservations open up 30 days in advance.

Iao Valley State Park (Maui)

To visit the lush, green mountains and hike at Iao Valley State Park, you must make reservations in advance here.

Reservations are offered for 90 minute time slots beginning at 7AM and ending at 6PM. They ask that you arrive within the first 30 minutes of your time slot.

Entry is $5/person plus $10/vehicle to park.

Reservations open up 30 days in advance.

Diamond Head (Oahu)

To hike to the top of Waikiki’s famous Diamond Head, you must make reservations in advance here.

Reservations are offered in two hour increments beginning at 6AM (6AM-8AM, 8AM-10AM, etc.) and ending at 6PM. If you’re parking onsite, they ask that you arrive within the first 30 minutes of your reservation window.

Entry is $5/person plus $10/vehicle to park.

Reservations open up 30 days in advance.

Tip: I recommend booking one of the first two time slots because there isn’t much shade on this hike and it gets pretty hot.

Hanauma Bay (Oahu)

To snorkel at Oahu’s pristine Hanauma Bay, you must make reservations in advance here.

Entry times are staggered in 10 minute increments from 7AM to 1:20PM with roughly 1000 slots being assigned in advance every day.

Reservations can be made two days in advance and they open at 7AM HST. They’re usually gone in minutes (if not seconds).

If you’re unable to get an advanced reservation, you can try for a day of, walk in ticket. They open at 6:45AM and they only have a limited number available. Everyone in your group needs to be present when you purchase your tickets in person.

There are no reservations for parking and it’s first come, first serve. $3/vehicle.

It’s $25/person to snorkel at Hanauma Bay (12 and under, active military, and locals with HI ID are free).

The Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is open Wednesday through Sunday (CLOSED MONDAY AND TUESDAY) from 6:45AM-4PM. Last entry is at 1:30PM, the beach is cleared at 3:15PM and you have to leave the facility by 4PM.

Jellyfish patterns can also affect whether or not the bay is open so double check the day before/day of.

USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor (Oahu)

If you want to take the boat tour at Pearl Harbor out to the USS Arizona, it’s recommended to make advance reservations here.

Online reservations are guaranteed a specific boarding time to go out to the USS Arizona. If you’re unable to get an advance reservation, you can wait standby when you arrive. The line could be short (15 minutes or so) or long (hours) and it just depends on the day (if they’re having problems with the loading dock sometimes they don’t take many from the standby line) and the time of day.

Reservations are supposed to open up 60 days in advance, but keep an eye on your exact dates, because lately they’ve actually been opening up about 57ish days in advance???

They also release a small batch of tickets the day before.

The boat ride out to the USS Arizona is free, but it’s $1 to make the reservations online.

They recently started charging $7/vehicle for parking at Pearl Harbor.

Haena State Park / Kalalau Trail (Kauai)

If you want to hike Kauai’s famous Kalalau Trail, you must make advance reservations here.
You’ve got three options here:

1) Parking & Entry: This is the most flexible option and also the most limited. THESE RESERVATIONS SELL OUT IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. There are three time slots available: 6:30AM-12:30PM, 12:30PM-5:30PM and 4:30PM to sunset. You can purchase multiple time slots if you want to stay longer. It’s $10/timeslot (parking) plus $5/person and you have to reserve every person when you initially book. Everybody has to arrive in the same car and your ID needs to match the reservation.

2) Shuttle & Entry: If you can’t get parking at the trailhead, there’s also a shuttle option. Shuttle reservations are $35/person (16+), $25/person (ages 4-15), 3 and under can ride free. The shuttle runs every 20 minutes 6:20AM to 6:40PM.

3) Entry Only: If you’re a Hawaiian resident (with HI ID) or someone WITH a Hawaiian resident, you can purchase entry only for $5/person with no advance reservations. Also, if you’re walking or biking to the trailhead you can do this option. But there is NOWHERE to park in the area to walk in. So this really only works for those with bikes or who are staying close enough to walk. They will tow your car if you park outside the designated areas.

The reservation window opens 30 days in advance at 12AM HST. The parking & entry option usually sells out in a minute, but the shuttle availability will last longer.

There are a TON of FAQs here including the possibility of snagging a canceled reservation.

Other Things to Book in Advance

Hawaii is a busy place these days! Besides the state and national parks above, here’s a handful of miscellaneous things you should make reservations for in advance (if they’re on your radar):

Mama’s Fish House (Maui): The iconic spot is the most popular restaurant in Hawaii and dinner reservations usually start filling up about 6 months in advance (they open up bookings 18 months in advance). Make reservations through their website and if the dates you want are already booked, you can join a waitlist. Most people have pretty good success getting in on the waitlist (even if it’s for lunch).

Old Lahaina Luau (Maui): Honestly, any luau you’re planning to attend you should book early, but most people are usually shocked how far out the Old Lahaina Luau books out. Book it as soon as you know your dates (I think they open at the six month window). They also have a waitlist.

Kualoa Ranch UTV Tour (Oahu): Everybody loves Jurassic Park so getting to ride UTVs where they filmed the movies is very popular. The ranch offers a lot of different tours but the UTV tours usually book out a couple of months in advance.

Spa Reservations: If you’re staying at a resort with a spa (or planning on visiting one), don’t wait until you arrive to make your reservations. I’d make them at least a month in advance.

Tee Times: Same for golf, reserve your tee times well in advance.

Dining Reservations: Any “fancy” or resort restaurant is likely to be booked up these days so if you like having a nice dinner every night, make your plans in advance.

P.S. Thanks for sticking around and reading this whole post! If you have ANY questions about planning your trip to Hawaii, you can join my free Facebook group here. I’m there answering questions every day and there are 7500+ other friends who have a ton of Hawaii information to share!

Also, 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 please share my account with your friends that are headed to Hawaii! Your support really helps me keep this blog running!

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!