Colleen Ballinger
This goo was worth a point in July 2025.
publication date: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 (part of July 2025)
category: 
Internet
clue: Her most popular character, a lipstick-bedecked wannabe star whose false confidence in her singing talent motivates her to behave like a diva, first went viral while she was employed at Disney's California Adventure, performing in shows based on Playhouse Disney and High School Musical. She was fired by the park because she kept breaking character to respond to fans of her videos, but she enjoyed years of success on YouTube, until a scandal involving inappropriate contact with a minor brought that to a halt, too.
explanation: Ballinger is famous for the obnoxious character Miranda Sings. more…
intended difficulty: medium
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, Samir Mehta, Richard Slominsky, and LaVonne Lemler
The Happiest Place on Earth: Since its opening on July 17, 1955, Disneyland has been an iconic theme park, famous the world over. It has enchanted generations of devoted fans, some of whom were inspired to seek employment there. These seven celebrities all worked in Disneyland before doing what made them famous (or more famous, in one case). Take a walk around the park and try to name all seven, and remember: When you guess upon these stars, it makes a difference who they are.Similar Goos
Ronald Reagan
Disneyland's addition of an audio-animatronic of Walt Disney for its 70th anniversary is turning out to be controversial, but Walt wouldn't be the first company employee recreated in audio-animatronic form: This man was reaching the end of his first career as a film actor when he was hired to host the live television broadcast of Disneyland's opening day from spots all over the park, before he embarked on a second career that eventually reached such heights that his likeness was added to the Magic Kingdom's Hall of Presidents. Go »
John Bettis
This hit-making songwriter is best known for his collaboration with the Carpenters, particularly lifelong friend Richard Carpenter, with whom he played live music in the Coke Corner (now Refreshment Corner) restaurant on Main Street, USA while they were just starting out. The duo was fired after four months for playing contemporary hits instead of old-timey music, but his career turned out just fine, seeing as he went on to write hits for Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, George Strait, and others. He also wrote many theme songs for TV shows, including Growing Pains starring Joanna Kerns, who herself once worked at Disneyland, playing Pinocchio's Blue Fairy in the Main Street Electrical Parade. Go »
John Lasseter
Prior to becoming one of Disney's most bankable directors with the likes of Toy Story and Cars—and one of their most high-profile separations in the wake of a #MeToo scandal—he spent summers working as a skipper aboard the Jungle Cruise attraction in Adventureland. What was he studying in college at the time? Character animation at CalArts, as taught by veteran Disney animators including Eric Larson, Frank Tomas, and Ollie Johnston. Go »
John McEuen
Steve Martin is arguably the celebrity who most famously used to work at Disneyland, but he acquired his love of the banjo the same way as this man, who was then his co-worker: The teenagers would take their breaks at the magic shop to run over to Frontierland to listen to the live bluegrass music. As a professional banjoist, he went on to a nearly forty-year membership in a famous Dirt Band, who once played backup on Martin's "King Tut" while billed as the Toot Uncommons. Go »
Sarah Butler
She rose to fame in the violent rape-revenge thriller I Spit on Your Grave and its sequel, playing a woman who is held captive and forced into sex. Much earlier in her career, she worked in the Fantasyland Theater, performing in the stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast as Belle, a woman held captive and pressured into romance. (In the film version, her last name was played by frequent Disney voice actor David Ogden Stiers.) Go »
