Disney+ is a new service that Disney has announced will be available to members of its own company, as well as other companies that have agreed to join the program. The service costs $9.99 per month and allows users to watch Disney movies and TV shows on their devices, as well as access all of the Disney Parks and Resorts. The service was first announced at the Walt Disney Company’s annual meeting in May. At the time, it was not clear how much the service would cost or when it would be available to members of the public. However, after more than a year of development, Disney+ has finally been released to the public. There are a few things that are different about Disney+ compared to traditional cable or satellite services. For one, Disney+ does not require a contract like traditional cable or satellite services do. Instead, members can sign up for a monthly subscription and then use their devices to watch content from bothDisney Parks and Resorts as well as any other participating company. Additionally, there is no commercials or marketing involved inDisney+; instead, content providers such as Netflix and Hulu are responsible for providing those features. This means that users can watch whatever they want without feeling pressured into watching anything they don’t want to see. Finally, there is no data cap on Disney+; instead, users can use it however they want without worrying about running out of data each month.
How Much Is a Disney+ Subscription?
As Disney+ has risen in popularity to challenge the dominance of streaming champion Netflix, its standard pricing remains competitive. A “Basic” ad-supported subscription to Disney+ in the US costs $7.99 per month, and a “Premium” ad-free subscription costs $10.99 per month or $109.99 yearly. Compared to that of Disney+, Netflix’s ad tier is one dollar cheaper, and while its first ad-free tier is also a dollar less than Disney+’s Premium tier, your stream quality and simultaneous watch numbers are both limited.
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What’s Included in a Disney+ Subscription?
A subscription to either the Basic or Premium tier of Disney+ provides access to all of the content currently available on the service. That includes the vast Disney library of classic animated movies like Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, Frozen, and many more; decades of programming from the Disney Channel; and popular movies from the 20th Century Fox library, which Disney acquired in 2019.
It also includes all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other Marvel-branded movies and TV series, the entire Pixar Animation Studios catalog, and the full Star Wars saga. Disney+ original series and movies, like Marvel’s WandaVision and Moon Knight and Star Wars‘ The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi, stream exclusively on Disney+.
Disney+ offers Premium subscribers the ability to download content on up to 10 devices, to watch on up to four screens at once, and to view more than 300 titles in 4K UHD picture and HDR sound, if those standards are supported by your devices. Unlike Netflix, Disney+ has not indicated that it plans to limit password sharing, so families can easily split a Disney+ subscription.
Is There a Free or Ad-Supported Tier?
There is no free tier available for Disney+, nor is there any longer a free trial for new subscribers—Disney+ eliminated that in 2020. The ad-supported tier for Disney+ arrived in December 2022, but while streaming services like Peacock offer programming free of charge with ads, Disney+’s ad-supported tier is not free.
The Disney+ ad tier is similar to the ad-supported version of Disney-owned streaming service Hulu, with a reduced monthly price of $7.99 if you’re willing to watch some amount of commercials. Notably, at the time of writing, the ad-supported tier does not work on Roku devices.
What Deals or Bundles Are Available For Disney+?
Since Disney owns both Hulu and ESPN+, the company is able to offer discounts for subscribers to these services. If you don’t mind missing out on ESPN+, you can also get just the ad versions of Hulu and Disney+ for $9.99 per month. The ad-supported version of the full Disney Bundle includes Disney+, ESPN+, and of Hulu for $12.99 per month. Paying $19.99 per month, though, gets you the whole trio without ads on Hulu or Disney+.
If you’re interested in Hulu’s more adult-focused programming, including original series like The Handmaid’s Tale, and the sports programming available on ESPN+, then the Bundle is a great deal. The ad-supported trio costs about $13 less per month than it would cost to subscribe to all three services individually, and you’d save $16 per month with the tier that removes ads from Hulu and Disney+.
New customers who sign up for Verizon’s Unlimited mobile phone plans can get six months of Disney+ for free by subscribing to Disney+ via Verizon.
What to Do If Disney+ Is Not Available in Your Country
While Disney+ has expanded since it first launched in North America, with availability in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, there are still some regions that don’t have Disney+. If the service isn’t available where you live, or if you’re traveling to an area without Disney+, the best way to guarantee access is with a VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN as the best overall VPN and the best for streaming, and there’s a free trial available. Here’s how to get started:
Download ExpressVPN. Connect to a server located in the United States. Head to Disney+ to sign in to your account. You will need to supply a valid U. S. ZIP code.
