We recently connected with Megan & Josh Stump and have shared our conversation below.
Megan & Josh, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
You are usually your own worst critic and that couldn’t be more true with us. When you flip on YouTube and type in Disney Tips, you’re going to find hundreds of other vlogers videos giving you their best tips. We’ve definitely had the thought “there’s so many out there doing this, why would anyone want to watch us?” We have our few theme park creators we’ve listened to for years. The reason we tune in video after video or podcast after podcast is because we relate to them in some way. Imposter Syndrome is tough to push past. There are some days that we still feel it. It really is a mindset shift and realizing that not everyone is going to like your content and that really is ok. There are going to be the people that feel a connection to your content, values or personality and those are the people that will tune in week after week. The feelings of Imposter Syndrome can ebb and flow depending on the season but staying grounded in who you are and your why behind what you’re doing can help you mentally push past it.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
We are theme park content creators! Our Podcast and YouTube Channel is Parks Unpacked. We usually direct our focus towards Disney and Universal Parks however we don’t shy away from fun so we are always up to checking out other theme parks. Our family loves going to the parks and even more so we love the quality time we get at the parks.
We were always giving family and friends advice and helping them prepare for their upcoming trips. So we decided in 2023 that we wanted to start the Parks Unpacked podcast to help more people plan for their vacations. We expanded our content to YouTube this past fall.
We know how expensive family vacations to those parks can be. We also know there are a million options for activities and it can be overwhelming to plan. By sharing our knowledge and first hand experiences, we can help save people time and money so they can get the most out of their vacations. Our content is family friendly and we try to share adventures everyone can relate to.
We currently reside in Indiana and are in the process of moving to the Orlando area. If you’re not following our channels yet, hit that follow button and subscribe on YouTube to keep up with our families shenanigans.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The first quality that has been impactful to our journey would hands down be patience.
This journey has definitely been in God’s timing and not ours. Starting this podcast and channel while living out of state definitely comes with its challenges. We have been at the mercy of Southwest deals/points to make quick trips down to attend events and check out new attractions. The days your YouTube video you work so hard on gets 200 views makes you question if it is all for nothing. It’s a slow climb for most content creators. 99.9% are not an overnight success. If you believe in your why and are patient enough with the process and yourself it’s a lot easier to be at peace with it. Hearing from one family how our 200 view video helped them with their trip made it feel like 2 million views.
Our second most impactful quality for content creation would be Storytelling. To be a duo in this field you need a yapper and an editor. Thankfully, we have both. I (Megan) am the yapper of our duo. I have so much useless-to-most-people knowledge about theme parks. I thoroughly enjoy staying up to date with all Disney and Universal news. Josh loves to go to the theme parks and to be immersed in the storytelling of the parks. However, he is not the content idea generator. He is so good at taking the ideas given and expanding on them to organize our content in a cohesive way that the listener would enjoy. He is the brains behind the editing. Leaning on those critical thinkers in your circle will help tremendously when planning your content.
Lastly, our motivation and self drive. As a content creator, you report to no one but yourself. You’ve gotta be disciplined and have a reason you are wanting to pursue this path or you will not succeed. Our life took a weird turn a few years ago when I had some health issues and got diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). POTS changed a lot of what I could do physically. I changed my lifestyle around a lot to help improve my symptoms. We’ve overcome a lot in the last few years. We’ve also beat out some generational curses along the way. A lot of self reflection, prayer and conversations happened and we decided it was time to get motivated about the things that matter to us. We wanted to chase our dreams of quality time, healthy lifestyles and finding a way that we can give back to others. I would challenge you to sit down and write out what your dreams are. What motivates you to pursue those dreams? Who is going to keep you accountable along the way?
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We are always looking for other creators and brands to collaborate with! We’ve had the chance to collaborate with a theme park in Kentucky and had a blast! We hope to get the chance to partner with Disney or Universal one day, obviously that would be a dream! We are always up for partnering with brands that align with us and our content.
When it comes to other creators, we have met many amazing ones but we are always open to new friends and partnerships! If you’re down to ride some rides, soak up nostalgia together, and hit up a few HHN houses, we are the friends you’ve been looking for!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parksunpacked/profilecard/?igsh=M3R5Y3FhZGZ2Nngy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/t1TcMN4ZzxQM4tsY/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@parksunpacked?si=3ZmHDCAjh-eGNQwC
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/1QYhFMANfozBbTrtE6y9EQ?si=GqVHlrk2QbGoLMLb0LlxqA
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