Disney Plus Review

Genres and channels

Perhaps the biggest perk viewers benefit from with Disney+ is access to the entire Disney library. Not only is it possible to watch Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Snow White and The Lion King, more recent favourites are on offer, such as Moana and Frozen.

Beyond the classic titles, you’ll find over 500 movies and more than 7500 TV shows – and that’s just the initial offering. You will be able to enjoy content from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and National Geographic.

Top Disney Plus shows and movies

The Mandalorian

This American space Western TV series, based on Star Wars, has proven to be more popular than Netflix smash hit Stranger Things. It takes place five years after the events which unfolded in Return of the Jedi and tracks the adventures of a Mandalorian bounty hunter as he navigates the outskirts of the galaxy – a long way from the New Republic’s authority.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Created by George Lucas and produced by Lucasfilm Animation, this animated TV series is set in between Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The previous animated TV series was titled similarly, as it was called Star Wars: Clone Wars. It aired in 2003 and was in 2D, whereas this 2008 series is 3D CGI.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

This mockumentary is based on the High School Musical film series and is set in a fictional version of East High School – where the original took place. A group of teenage theatre fans take part in a production of High School Musical: The Musical.

The World According to Jeff Goldblum

Premiering on November 12, 2019, this documentary series sees Jeff ‘explore the world’ and look at topics such as video games, sneakers and sweet treats. Each episode includes such elements as chats with influencers and experts who specialise in the subject. Goldblum apparently researched as little as possible on the topics for each show while the series was filming.

Marvel’s Hero Project

This documentary series chronicles the heroes making change in their communities by demonstrating acts of altruism. Each kid has their own Marvel comic created, with Marvel Entertainment saying: ‘In life, it doesn’t take wearing a suit of iron, carrying a mythical hammer or swinging from spider webs to be a real hero. Sometimes the person who can make a positive difference in the world is the person who simply sees a problem and has the passion to find a creative solution.’

Lizzie McGuire

Hilary Duff announced there would be a reboot of the popular Disney show Lizzie McGuire, 15 years on. Details so far reveal that Lizzie will be approaching her 30th birthday, living in Manhattan as an apprentice to an interior designer and engaged. But to whom?

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Expected to be released in late 2020, this TV miniseries is set after the 2019 movie Avengers: Endgame and is based on the Marvel Comics characters Falcon and Winter Soldier. The series tackles the aftermath of the events from the Endgame film, where Wilson (Falcon) was given the mantle of Captain America.

Encore!

Hosted by Kristen Bell and Will Gluck, this reality TV series sees groups of kids who were once theatre enthusiasts put back on stage to re-perform the musicals they staged in school. The entire production has to be re-learned and performed in just five days.

Monsters at Work

This spinoff from the popular 2001 movie Monsters Inc follows on from the ending, which sees Monstropolis collect energy from children’s laughter instead of screams. It focuses on Tylor Tuskmon, a mechanic who works on the Facilities Team and dreams of working alongside his heroes – Mike Wazowski and James P Sullivan.

WandaVision

Set after the events of 2019 film Avengers: Endgame, this miniseries is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is based on the characters Scarlet Witch and Vision. It will be released in 2021 and is made up of six episodes.

Streaming library

When you log in to Disney+, you’ll see an interface which is similar to that found with Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. The content is organised into rows and split into sections according to their type.

The top of the screen will provide you with a dynamic banner showing Disney’s five main brands. Within each of these banners you will be able to click through to featured titles produced by the brand. There will also be links where you can click on the relevant brand – such as Pixar or Marvel – to filter content which only comes from this source.

The rows underneath this banner include sub headings such as Hit Movies, Recommended For You, Featured, Live Action Movies, Reimagined Classics, Inspired By True Stories, For Kids and Musicals. You can also search for a title using the search bar, or click onto the download icon to see which titles you currently have available to watch online.

Each of the categories and groupings has been carefully curated by Disney, which results in subscribers being able to find shows and movies they didn’t necessarily know existed or would have chosen naturally.

However, if you want a more predictable setup, you can look at sections dedicated to TV shows and movies. There is also a drop down menu in these general sections where you can break categories down into genre, such as Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Kids, Drama, Action/Adventure and Shorts. You can also filter content to find titles which play in 4K Ultra HD.

Streaming quality

Many of the titles on Disney Plus are available in 4K. These include all of the Star Wars films, all Pixar films and a number of classic Disney films. The programs which are available in 4K are labelled as HD on its information page. An internet speed of at least 25Mbps, plus a compatible device, is required for streaming at this resolution.

Generally speaking, you will need to have an internet connection which is at least 5.0Mbps for HD quality video streaming – which is also known as 1080p. If you can get this without WiFi on your mobile device instead, this is fine, but make sure your 3G or 4G connection doesn’t operate with a data cap. Otherwise, you may find that it runs out very quickly.

Customer support

Those wanting support from Disney Plus can access a range of commonly asked questions in the help center. Topics covered include troubleshooting, account management and watching Disney+.

Alternatively, customers can call support or engage in the live chat facility. There is also a Twitter support page which is responsive when people contact it with queries.

Free trial

Disney+ offers all new subscribers a seven day free trial. This enables them to find out if they like the service enough to have a paid subscription. If you decide not to subscribe, you can cancel your membership without being charged – as long as you do so before the trial period is over. If you do want to keep using the service, there’s no need to do anything more – your card will begin to be charged.

Plans and pricing

The plans available with Disney Plus depend on what types of content you want to watch and how often you want to pay. For example, you can buy a subscription which remains valid for a year, stick to a monthly standalone plan or bundle services with Hulu and ESPN+.

To pay for a monthly subscription, you will need to sign up for the $6.99 plan. Alternatively, you can buy a year-long plan which will cost $69.99 a year – or $5.83 a month. If you want to combine Disney Plus with Hulu and ESPN, you can get the bundle for $12.99 a month. As you would be paying $18 a month for each service individually, you’re saving $5 a month, or $60 a year. If you want the Disney Plus and ESPN+ bundle along with the ad-free version of Hulu, this will cost $18.99 per month.

Competitors

It’s clear that the content on Disney+ poses a challenge to streaming giant Netflix, due to its well-established brand name and network of content which long precedes the start of the Netflix venture. There is some work for Disney+ to put in before it reaches the subscriber base Netflix has – namely, 140 million people across the world, along with a huge content library. While there are numerous other streaming services out there, such as Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and HBO Go, Netflix is clearly the main contender due to its hub of drama, comedy, kids TV, teen movies, anime, documentaries and much more.

One of the challenges Netflix faces now that Disney+ is rolled out is the fact that all Disney content is being removed from its platform to relocate to the new provider. Another challenge is the fact that many classic TV shows such as Friends and The Office are becoming more and more expensive to license, putting extra pressure on the streaming giant to invest in original content and keep subscribers interested enough to keep coming back.

Is Disney Plus worth it?

It’s clear that Disney+ is a streaming service with incredible promise, and it’s sure to challenge every streaming service on the market. With its high profile, universally loved and well-established reputation, Disney+ doesn’t need to do much to generate publicity or a subscriber base, and with the addition of original content from movies and franchises that the public love the most, there’s very little chance of this venture not going well for the content giant.

It’s likely that people will at least be subscribed to both Netflix and Disney+ for a while. Netflix will start feeling the pressure more and more over time once Disney+ continues developing its original content, and it will be interesting to see which brand comes out on top.

See our full list of the best streaming services to find the right streaming service for you.