Will Ferrell revealed he worked at Disneyland during college but quit after one day
He had a friend call Disneyland to quit on his behalf, jokingly citing a Dallas Cowboys tryout as the reason
Ferrell shared the story on Amy Poehler’s podcast Good Hang while discussing fun jobs he had as a USC student
Will Ferrell is opening up about his short-lived role at Disneyland back in his college days.
The Hawk star, 58, got into the topic of old jobs he took on as a college student at the University of Southern California during the July 14 episode of Amy Poehler‘s podcast Good Hang.
“Did you have any fun, dumb jobs that you were doing while you were trying to figure out... You were at USC right?” Poehler, 54, first asks Ferrell.
Ferrell responds, “Yeah. I parked cars. I worked one day at Disneyland,” which prompts Poehler to burst out laughing and ask, “Did you get fired? Just quietly not asked back?”
Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell on Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell on Good Hang with Amy Poehler
The Step Brothers actor then explains that he wanted to quit, so he had his friend pretend to be him and “quit on my behalf, which was really funny,” he said. “For some reason, I was so embarrassed to call,” Ferrell continues, before providing more context about his situation at the time.
“So, I got a job, and you were paid for the orientation day to work at Disneyland. And I thought that I was going to be assigned, you know, one of the really fun jobs, like the Jungle Cruise operator,” he says. “And I find out, oh no, those guys work there for 8 years before [they get that role], so they assign me one of the front kiosks for selling tickets.”
He continues the tale by sharing how he had a “rival offer” to work at his friend’s surf shop in Newport Beach, which was more appealing to him since he would be getting the same pay ($5.50 an hour) as his job at Disneyland.
“I was too embarrassed to call up Disneyland,” he continues. “So my friend John called on my behalf and said, ‘Uh, I will be quitting after one day.’ And they asked, ‘Okay, reason for leaving?’ He said, ‘I have a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys,’ and they went, ‘Thank you very much.’”
As Poehler bursts into laughter, Ferrell says, “So somewhere there’s a file at Disney corporate. It says, ‘Will Ferrell worked for one day. Reason for leaving: Tryout with the Dallas Cowboys football team.’”
Disneyland Resort on May 27, 2022 in Anaheim, California; Will Ferrell attends the premiere of Netflix's "The Hawk" at Directors Village on July 09, 2026 in Los Angeles, California
Disneyland Resort on May 27, 2022 in Anaheim, California; Will Ferrell attends the premiere of Netflix's "The Hawk" at Directors Village on July 09, 2026 in Los Angeles, California
This is not the first time a Hollywood star has taken on a temporary role at Disneyland.
During a May 2026 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Geena Davis revealed she once played Goofy for “a few hours” during a previous visit to Disneyland.
During the episode, she recalled how she briefly dressed up as the beloved character and interacted with guests at the Anaheim, Calif., theme park.
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“I understood that nobody’s ever allowed to do this, but somehow, they let me be Goofy,” Davis said. “They were like, ‘We’ll have a guy come out and show you how he walks and stuff.’”
Putting on a Goofy impression, the actress added, “I know how he walks,” while mimicking the Disney character’s mannerisms. “So, I was Goofy for a few hours, and I was signing autographs and posing for pictures. It was super fun,” she concluded.