We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrea Webb. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrea below.
Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My Mom specifically showed me the value of finding time for fun in my life. She owner a business and worked really hard, but she always made sure that we had time to go on vacation as a family. I have her to thank for my love of Disneyland – she took my brother and I for the first time when I was five years old, and once yearly most years after that until I left the house. She loves Disneyland as much as the most intense Disney fans I know. Because of her, I have an deep nostalgia for it, and have given myself permission as an adult to continue enjoying it and sharing that joy with others who feel the same.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi! I’m Andrea, or dreamingwithdre if you know me from social media. :) I run a Disney Instagram page where I share magical, nostalgic moments in time from the Disney parks with people who may not be able to get there as often as they’d like.
I started my Disney Instagram page in September 2021 after my first trip to Disneyland as a passholder. Coming out of the pandemic, like many others, I was just so ready to embrace fun and things that bring me joy. So, as soon as Disneyland announced that passes were coming back, I decided it was time to finally fulfill that lifelong dream of being a Disneyland passholder. I live in Northern California, so I’m not exactly a Disneyland “local,” and having a pass to Disneyland was always something I dreamed about but felt unrealistic. I’m so glad I finally pulled the trigger, as it’s been life-changing in many ways.
Having followed other Disneyland content creators on social media for years, I decided that now was the time to start my own! It started off as a very casual thing, where I posted simple posed photos from my park visits. My early reels were basic, too long, and rough. Over time, my creative goals became more clear. I realized what I enjoyed creating and what brought the most value to my audience.
Most of my reels now are short, 5-9 second clips of small, peaceful moments from the park, with vivid written descriptions that transport the viewer to a memory or moment from their last trip. Creating these reels brings me joy as well, as it takes me mentally back to my happy place no matter where I am or what I’m doing.
Although this style of content is now the backbone of my page, I also enjoy putting thrifted outfits and Disneybounds together for my park trips, occasionally sharing DIY Disney treats I’ve made at home, and just sharing life as a Disneyland magic key holder.
As I’m approaching the 2 year mark, I just hit a huge milestone of 5000 followers, which at the beginning was never something I expected to achieve. I’m so grateful to have this creative outlet as a part of my life, to have met other creatives through this space, and to every person who gives my creative outlet a purpose by engaging with what I put out there.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivoting! For a while, I was focused on making lots of Disney DIY treat videos. I had a Tigger Tail fail video go viral, so I thought it would be a good idea to work off that and have DIY Disney treats by my thing. I had fun doing it, but it was ultimately unsustainable for me. I have a full time job as an elementary teacher, and I was spending a full weekend day making these 10 second DIY treat videos that weren’t even doing that well. It took me a while after moving away from that to find something that worked, but it was worth it to pivot.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I don’t have the biggest audience, but I do believe that what I have built comes from being authentic to myself. Once I stepped away from just trying to follow video trends and doing what I felt was “expected” of a Disney content creator, I found my stride and my audience increased.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/dreamingwithdre