Rising Stars: Meet Joshua Dean and Justin Roberts

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Dean and Justin Roberts.

Hi Joshua and Justin, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Oh, goodness! It’s a long story.

We’ll start at the beginning, I guess! My husband, Justin Roberts, and I were visiting friends for their wedding in Ponte Vedra Beach, and we decided to stay in Orlando since that’s where most of our interests lie. One of the guys getting married had moved from East Tennessee, where we’re originally from, years ago and has done amazing things here in Florida including finding his husband. We made a trip out of the whole thing! We both took vacation time and headed South.

After the wedding, we had plans to visit Walt Disney World and Universal Studios over the course of the next few days. The wedding came and went and so did the remaining days of our vacation. Per usual, the drive home from Central Florida to East Tennessee was not a fun one. The whole time we both just wanted to be back in the sunshine and near all the magic. It was a couple of days after we got back Justin began telling me, “We should just move to Florida.” That’s the thought that carried us to where we are today.

I had just started a new job, and there seemed to be room for growth, so I would tell Justin when he repeated we should move that, “Yeah, we should move to Florida…one day.” I mean, it made sense. We love theme parks, sunshine, cruises, and the beach. It took some repeating from my husband, but eventually he got me thinking, “We could move to Florida. Why not?” And honestly, why not? People do it all the time. My friend who just got married did it years ago, and he is thriving. That’s when I took the one-way trip down the rabbit hole with my husband leading the way.

I began watching videos on Youtube from people who had made the journey and what we needed to do to follow in their footsteps. We even joined a Facebook group that had people doing the exact same thing we wanted to do. We got together a plan, and it was now time to tell our families. We met with mine first and explained the plan was to spend this year preparing to move and to be fully moved down to Florida by Summer 2022.

Part of this big move was to begin chatting with a realtor about selling our house and to see what all was needed to begin that process. That’s what catapulted us into the move. If anyone has sold or bought a house in the last nine months or so, you know it is no longer a slow drawn-out process. It happens quick!

So, now with the selling of our house and us finding housing in the Tampa area near my new job, Summer 2022 became Summer 2021.

After getting moved, before I started my job, we had to get in as much Florida fun as possible. This meant we did what we moved to Florida to do–visit Universal and Walt Disney World. We ended up with so many photos and videos, we decided to have one place we could share them separate from our normal social media. This is where @thelostboysofdisney was born.

This Instagram account was made to join the amazing Disney/Universal community and share our own perspectives and magic. In doing so, we hope to sprinkle some pixie dust onto other people’s feeds and make them smile. This community has been amazing, and we’ve created some great relationships with like-minded people, and we can’t wait to grow and share more with everyone!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
With all types of people getting on social media to be the next big influencer, there’s so much pressure to post the best picture with no flaws or the best caption. We decided we just wanted to post what makes us smile. It’s hard to see other people posting similar things to us and see them do so much better, but you have to remember we’re all on different journeys to different destinations in life. The best thing to do is be supportive and kind to everyone you meet. And remember to have fun. If you’re not having fun, why are you doing it?

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For some people, Instagram is a career, and for some it’s just fun. I’d hardly call what we do a career, and we’re definitely not professionals in it, but we’re for sure having fun! I’m just proud we’ve cultivated our own niche group of people with which we share common interests. Disney adults are definitely one of the most “cheugy” things from what I’ve heard, but I’m okay with that. If it brings us joy and doesn’t hurt anyone else, there’s no harm in it.

One of my favorite things about our account is we share images of not just ourselves, because who wants to see two random guys on Instagram at a Disney park that they don’t know? We share iconic images of the theme parks that are not pretentious or begging for likes and engagements. We just want to share our slice of Disney/Universal paradise with the rest of the world. We strive to be the account we would want to follow to see our favorite places if we didn’t live an hour away from them.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I would say we both, Justin and myself, were probably shy and not very outspoken. I can speak for myself in saying that is not the case now. While we both have our social limitations and different levels to our own social batteries, we can thrive either at home being hermits or out and about in group situations.

We both grew up in conservative Southern households with similar upbringings, so to say a lot of our youth was stuck hiding who we truly were is an understatement. I appreciate the fact there is so much openness in the Disney community when it comes to the LGBT+ population. We keep that in mind when creating content. We want our followers and friends to know our page is a place they can go to be happy, find magic, and be their most authentic selfs.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelostboysofdisney/