Streamer reviews: What do our experts think of Disney+?
Streamer reviews: What do our experts think of Disney+?
See our comprehensive guide to Disney’s flagship streaming serivce to let us help you decide if a subscription is right for you.
It seems as if no streaming service is ever going to catch up to the dominance of Netflix, but it’s not for lack of trying. Each legacy entertainment company in the United States now operates an on-demand streaming service, and some have more than one.
Disney falls into that category; the company actually operates three subscription streamers in Disney+, Hulu, and the ESPN direct-to-consumer service. But Disney+ is the company’s flagship on-demand entertainment offering, and has become the focal point for Disney’s streaming efforts in the seven years since its launch.
If you’re trying to sort through your streaming choices and are unsure about whether you should add Disney+ to your retinue, read on. We’ll lay out all the most important details to know about the streamer, and give you the first-hand perspective of a years-long subscriber to Disney+ below.
The Streamable’s review of Disney+
What is Disney+?
Disney+ is the main entertainment streaming service offered by Disney. It’s available directly to consumers with monthly or annual subscription options, and can also be packaged with other streaming services in the Disney Bundle.
First launched in 2019, Disney+ has grown to 132 million subscribers worldwide. Disney continues to position Disney+ as a one-stop streaming destination, with content from Hulu and ESPN available on the Disney+ app for users who subscribe to combinations of these services.
How much is Disney+?
On its own, Disney+ has two plans: its ad-supported Basic plan for $12 per month, or the ad-free Premium plan for $19 per month. Each has an annual counterpart: Disney+ Basic for $120 per year, and Disney+ Premium for $190.
Is Disney+ available in any bundles?
Absolutely, yes. Disney offers Disney+ in bundles with Hulu, ESPN services, and HBO Max. Hulu + Live TV customers can also opt to add the Disney Bundle to their package for no additional charge. Check out these bundle options in the table below:
| Streamer or Bundle | Price per month |
|---|---|
| Disney Bundle Duo Basic (Disney+ and Hulu with ads) | $13 |
| Disney Bundle Trio Basic (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select with ads) | $20 |
| Disney Bundle Trio Legacy (Disney+ with no ads, Hulu with ads, ESPN Select with ads) | $25 |
| Disney Bundle Trio Premium (Disney+ and Hulu without ads, ESPN Select with ads) | $30 |
| Hulu + Live TV (with ads on Disney+ and Hulu) | $90 |
| Hulu + Live TV (with ads on Hulu and ESPN Select, no ads on Disney+) | $95 |
| Hulu + Live TV (without ads on Disney+ and Hulu) | $100 |
| Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu bundle (with ads) | $20 |
| Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu bundle (no ads) | $33 |
What’s in Disney+’s content library?
Disney+ has a large content library built around streaming originals, as well as new and past content from various Disney studios and TV channels. On the original front, Disney+ offers a variety of animated and live-action shows and movies, including the aforementioned Marvel and Star Wars franchises, epics like the “Percy Jackson” series, and more.
Of course, no streaming service with Disney in its name could reasonably omit animated classics from the studio like “Snow White” and “Sleeping Beauty,” as well as hundreds of other features produced by Disney and Pixar throughout the company’s many years of existence.
The acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019 left Disney in charge of the National Geographic brand and all its attendant specials. That content now resides on Disney+, as does one of the most-loved series for younger children in “Bluey.” Disney+ makes a real effort to try to present a large variety of kids’ shows and movies, including educational content — not just brain rot.
Viewers who subscribe to Disney+ as part of a bundle with Hulu can also watch the vast majority of TV shows and movies found in the Hulu catalog on the Disney+ app. This cuts down on the amount of switching around between apps that subscribers have to do.
Does Disney+ include live TV channels?
Disney+ offers a series of continuous playlists called Streams that are available to all Disney+ subscribers (more on those below). The streamer also includes the ABC News free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel, and in February, the streamer welcomed ABC stations in eight markets around the United States.
Viewers who bundle Disney+ with ESPN Unlimited can also watch live streams of ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, SEC Network, and other channels on the Disney+ app as well.
How is the ad experience on Disney+?
Disney+ actually leans on the heavier side of commercial time, per our user tests of the streamer last year. We saw around seven to 10 minutes per hour-long show on Disney+, but there are no commercials added to shows meant for young kids.
What sports are available on Disney+?
All Disney+ subscribers get access to at least some live sports, even those on the streamer’s Basic plan that do not bundle their service with an ESPN plan. There’s no regular schedule of these events; they are shown on Disney+ at Disney and ESPN’s discretion. Still, viewers can catch events like “Monday Night Football” games, NBA games, golf coverage, college sports, and more on Disney+. Viewers who subscribe to ESPN streaming plans as part of a bundle with Disney+ can watch much more on the streamer.
ESPN Select customers can stream the following sports in the Disney+ app:
ESPN Unlimited viewers get even more content from ESPN on the Disney+ app, including:
- College football games, including College Football Playoffs
- NFL
- MLB
- NBA and WNBA
- Wimbledon, U.S. Open, and Australian Open
- The Masters
- “SportsCenter” and “First Take”
- WWE
What are Disney+’s key features?
Disney+ allows viewers in the same household to stream on up to four devices at the same time. Bundle subscribers can watch Hulu content on Disney+ on up to two devices simultaneously, and ESPN linear channels can be watched on up to three devices concurrently by customers who have ESPN Unlimited in a bundle.
Disney+ Premium subscribers can use premium visual formats like Ultra-High-Definition 4K, as well as audio formats like Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced Sound on select titles. These audio formats are not available for Disney+ Basic viewers, but Disney+ viewers on ad plans can watch some titles in 4K. Premium subscribers can also download titles from Disney+ to watch offline.
Disney+ also offers a selection of always-on channels called Streams. All Disney+ customers get access to a selection of these Streams, including the ABC News free streaming channel, The Simpsons, and Disney+ Playtime. Disney+ Premium subscribers get even more streaming options to choose from.
What devices can you watch Disney+ on?
The Disney+ app is available to download and stream on all of the most-used streaming players and smart TV operating systems in the United States, including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Roku, Samsung, VIZIO, and more. Viewers can also watch Disney+ on Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as most major American web browsers.
One subscriber’s perspective of Disney+
Let me start this section by saying I understand completely the complaints of some Marvel and Star Wars fans at the way Disney has handled those franchises. Even the most charitable fan will admit that at many points over the past few years, it has felt as if Disney thinks of these sagas as cash cows to keep mining for shows to prop up its streamer, at the expense of their reputation.
Even so, it’s hard for me to dismiss the utility of Disney+ for myself personally. The streamer simply has too much content I like to watch; even if I don’t find myself logging in once per day, I think of Disney+ as a streaming subscription I always want to have. Whether I’m re-watching “The Simpsons,” sampling the latest Marvel or Star Wars fare, or even revisiting an old animated favorite from the Disney archives, I’m a frequent Disney+ user.
There’s another reason I haven’t canceled my Disney+ subscription, however. One of the shrewdest things Disney has done with its streamers is bundle them together for a discounted price; I value both the general entertainment library of Hulu as well as access to all live sports on ESPN, so I have opted to subscribe to Disney’s combo of all three. But with a discounted price comes a poison-pill provision; namely, if I want to unsubscribe to one service in the bundle, I have to unsubscribe to all of them.
To be fair, Disney has tried very hard to integrate these streamers for bundle customers, making the user experience much simpler for subscribers who don’t want to swap back and forth between apps. Nearly 100% of the Hulu library is available to stream on Disney+ as well, for example, and though I have thus far watched the services on separate apps, the recent news that Disney+ will allow bundle customers to import their Hulu profiles to the Disney+ app will likely change the way I watch.
Being able to watch premier sporting events on Disney+ offers users another layer of value, as well as an enticement to sign up for an ESPN streaming plan. Even if you opt to forgo that ESPN plan, you’ll get some high-demand sports with all Disney+ plans, meaning ad-supported customers aren’t locked out like they are on some other services.
I don’t have any kids myself, but families with children will want to sincerely think about getting a Disney+ account for the house. Viewers are able to set parental controls to ensure only age-appropriate content shows up on kids’ profiles, and Disney has obviously built a reputation as one of the foremost providers of children’s content over the decades.
If you’ve never been a Disney person or have strong feelings about the way the company has handled some of its IP, then a subscription may not be right for you. Chances are, however, that you’ll see at least something you want to stream on Disney+ at some point, and you may not be able to give up your subscription once you’ve got it.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”