The Disney Plus vault is remarkably deep, with TV and movies that cater to every taste out there. This in large part because it includes iconic names like Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar, and a long list of content from once-rival 20th Century Fox.
Boasting well over 100 million subscribers, Disney Plus' diverse content is serving it well. As well as a ginormous existing library with modern and classic fare, new titles are added all the time. This means you'll get new additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (such as Thor: Love and Thunder, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Ms. Marvel) and Star Wars spinoffs (including The Bad Batch, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Mandalorian) amongst other new releases. Of course, Disney Plus also features every Pixar film imaginable and other movie smash hits like the record-breaking addition to the Predator series, Prey.
Want to know more details? Keep reading our guide, which explains everything – including the Disney Plus price, compatible devices and the movie/TV highlights of the moment. Want to know more? See our Disney Plus review.
Disney Plus: How to sign up
It's very easy - if you want to start watching the riches Disney Plus has to offer, all you need to do is sign up for Disney Plus here (opens in new tab). You can choose between a monthly subscription or an annual one (which could save you money – we'll explain more later).
Is there a Disney Plus free trial?
Disney Plus offered a 7-day free trial when it launched, but discontinued it in 2020
Disney Plus: Price and bundle explained
The Disney Plus price structure has monthly and yearly subscription tiers. Disney Plus now costs $7.99 per month in the US if you don't mind ads, or $10.99 if you'd rather go ad-free (opens in new tab). While you can't buy an annual with-ads subscription, you can save money on the zero-ads version by buying an annual subscription for $109.99. In the US, there's also a $13.99 per month Disney Plus bundle with Hulu and ESPN+, which we'll explain below.
In the UK, Disney Plus is now £7.99 per month, or £79.90 per year following a price hike in February 2021. In Australia, Disney Plus is now AU$13.99 per month or $139.99 per year.
In Canada, it's $11.99 CAD a month and $119.99 CAD for a year. In New Zealand, you'll pay NZ$14.99 a month or NZ$149.99 per year.
Disney Plus' recent price hike has meant its cheapest option (with ads) is now more expensive than Netflix's 'with ads' plan ($6.99 a month). However, the higher-level plans and features are arguably better value, especially when you consider you can have four simultaneous streams on Disney Plus as standard.
In the US, there's a Disney Plus bundle. It includes Disney Plus itself, Hulu (with ads) and ESPN+ for just $13.99 a month.
What is Disney Plus Star?
Star on Disney Plus launched outside the US in territories like Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada on February 23, 2021.
Whereas US subscribers have Hulu, Star provides a platform for viewers to enjoy a broader range of entertainment offerings from Disney's many production silos – including FX, 20th Century Fox and ABC. That means that Disney Plus’ family-friendly core content (Star Wars, Marvel, Disney, Pixar, National Geographic) is now bolstered by more grown-up fare such as 24, Lost, Atlanta, Desperate Housewives, some of the Die Hard movies, and – in the UK – The Walking Dead.
But it isn't only classic content available on Star, there's new stuff added to the category all the time. Recently this has included Pam and Tommy, The Bear and Only Murders in the Building (how diverse can you get?).
In the UK, this addition has doubled the amount of content available to stream.
Disney Plus Premier Access: What is it and how much does it cost?
While most movies and TV shows on the Disney Plus platform are included in your monthly/yearly subscription fee, some major movie releases will cost you extra. At a cost of $29.99 (US) per movie, Disney Plus Premier Access gives you the opportunity to watch big new releases around three months before they’re available to regular subscribers. However, there hasn't been anything new on Premier Access for quite some time, so it isn't clear how Disney is using this service moving forward.
This premium option launched in September 2020 with the live-action remake of Mulan, and was designed to give subscribers the option to see Disney’s biggest releases while theaters were closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Raya and the Last Dragon and Cruella (both released in 2021) made their debuts on Premier Access. And, when theaters reopened around the world, Black Widow and Jungle Cruise landed on the premium service on the same days they debuted on the big screen.
While the $29.99-per-movie cost of Disney Plus Premier Access may seem steep – especially in addition to your regular Disney Plus subscription – in most cases it will be cheaper than taking an entire family to the cinema. As an added bonus, you can then watch the movie as many times as you want – just so long as you keep your Disney Plus subscription access active.
There’s also no need to worry about missing out on the biggest movies if you’d rather not shell out $30 for Premier Access. So far, the Premier Access titles have been available to regular Disney Plus subscribers around 90 days after their initial release.
Disney Plus: Apps and compatible devices
These are the devices that are compatible with the Disney Plus app:
- iOS
- Android
- Apple TV
- Fire TV devices
- Roku
- Chromecast / Chromebook
- Xbox One
- PS4
- Nvidia Shield (via Android TV)
- Smart TVs (including Android TV, LG WebOS, Samsung Tizen, Vizio SmartCast)
The Disney Plus app can be downloaded on almost any device, and you can watch it in web browsers on desktop, too. The Disney Plus app supports up to four simultaneous streams, ten registered devices and you can create seven profiles. Each profile can create its own Watch List.
You can download as much Disney Plus content as you want to watch offline, as long as you sign in to the app online every 30 days.
The app has different age ratings for content, and you can choose to create a Kids Profile to remove the more adult-friendly content on there (The Simpsons, for example).
As well as having different content hubs for Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel and National Geographic, the Disney Plus app has curated content lists themed around different subjects. These hubs include the major franchises we just mentioned, but also themed sets of Simpsons episodes, or Disney divided into decades. It's a nice way to find something to watch that's not just driven by Netflix-style algorithms.
Disney Plus also includes a co-watching feature called GroupWatch, which allows you to watch a movie or TV show with up to six other people, inviting fellow subscribers to a synced-up playback experience. You get the option to react to the stream in real-time, too.
Disney Plus movies: What's new?
Disney’s massive archive of classic movies is one of the biggest trump cards it holds over its streaming rivals. They’re the lifeblood of the service, as you can see in our list of the best Disney Plus movies.
Disney Plus includes pretty much every Disney animated movie you can think of from the last nine decades: from early classics like Snow White and Pinocchio, through to modern hits such as Moana, Zootopia and Frozen. There's more or less parity in the library across different territories, though depending on where you are, some movies may be tied up in deals with other services and arrive on Disney Plus later.
Disney Plus has an almost-complete archive of Pixar movies to watch (including recent releases Turning Red and Lightyear, and Luca and Soul), as well as every Star Wars movie, up to and including 2019's The Rise of Skywalker.
You can also complete most of a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie marathon from the first Iron Man (2008) through to Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), as well as Phase 4 flicks like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The only MCU movies missing from Disney Plus are those owned by other studios – the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies and The Incredible Hulk.
There’s a bunch of Disney Plus original movies you won’t find anywhere else, among them the spooky Hocus Pocus 2 and Enchanted sequel, Disenchanted. Plus, Home Sweet Home Alone, and the Lady and the Tramp live-action remake. And you'll also find some of the more obscure films from the Disney back catalogue (The Black Hole, The Rocketeer), as well as a number of movies from the old 20th Century Fox archive available to stream, including James Cameron's Avatar, the Home Alone series and Cheaper by the Dozen. Many of Fox’s X-Men movies have been added to the service now, too.
The Disney Plus movie selection is defiantly family friendly, though in countries that get Disney Plus Star, there are options for content for older viewers – everything from The Fly to Kingsman: The Secret Service and Con Air. Ridley Scott's historical drama The Last Duel.
These are the major movies coming to Disney Plus in the US throughout 2023 and beyond that we know about right now:
New movies for 2023
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- The Little Mermaid
- Peter Pan and Wendy
- Elemental
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- The Marvels
- Haunted Mansion
- Next Goal Wins
- True Love
- Wish
- Aladdin: Live From the West End
- Crater
- Three Men and a Baby
Disney Plus TV shows: What's new?
Arguably the biggest reason to be excited about the future of Disney Plus is its raft of exciting TV originals. Last year has saw Andor, She-Hulk, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ms Marvel and many others hit the streamer, joining The Mandalorian, WandaVision, Loki, The Book of Boba Fett, Moon Knight and Hawkeye as the watercooler TV to pay attention to.
Other originals include kid-friendly shows like Diary of a Future President, Zenimation, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and Pixar series Forky Asks a Question and Monsters at Work.
Disney Plus also has a lot of non-fiction shows available to watch, such as the excellent documentary series The Imagineering Story, Shop Class, Marvel's Hero Project, The Big Fib, Disney Family Sundays and Disney Fairy Tale Weddings. As you might expect, a lot of its programming is targeted at families.
In terms of classic shows, Disney Plus offers a lesser array of older series compared to its movie collection. What's here is mostly animated, like DuckTales, Recess, Gargoyles, Gummi Bears, Goof Troop, TaleSpin and several Marvel series, including the '90s X-Men and Spider-Man animated series. The big hitter, of course, is The Simpsons. There are 31 seasons to stream now, as well as The Simpsons Movie. You'll find some other live-action shows to enjoy in the US, too, like Marvel's Runaways and Boy Meets World.
Star viewers outside the US also get access to high-profile TV shows such as 24, Lost and Desperate Housewives.
Here are the new TV shows we know are coming up on Disney Plus in 2023 and beyond:
New Marvel shows for 2023:
- What If…? season 2
- Secret Invasion
- Loki season 2
- Ironheart
- Echo
- Agatha: Coven of Chaos
- X-Men '97
New Star Wars shows for 2023:
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch – Season 2
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian – Season 3
- Star Wars: Ahsoka
- Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
- Star Wars: Visions – Season 2
- Young Jedi Adventures
New Pixar shows for 2023:
- Win Or Lose
- Dug Days: Carl’s Date
New Disney animated shows for 2023
- Iwájú
- Kiya and the Kimoja Heroes
- Monsters at Work season 2
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
- Pupstruction
- The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder season 2
- Tiana
Other Disney Plus releases in 2023:
- Willow
- The Resident – Season 6
Disney Plus error codes: What the numbers mean
Check out our list of Disney Plus error codes for more on what the different numbers mean. If you're having issues with Disney Plus you can't seem to solve, try the Disney Plus help center (opens in new tab) for more.
This is how you contact Disney Plus customer service, too, if you can't resolve an issue. You can call 888-905-7888 if you're based in the US. You can also tweet the Disney Plus help account (opens in new tab). This email should help, as well: DisneyPlusHelp@Disney.com.
Disney Plus gift subscriptions: Get a year of Disney Plus for a friend or family member
Disney Plus Gift Subscriptions are available at the yearly $79.99 tier, and make an ideal last-minute gift. You can buy Disney+ Gift Subscriptions here (opens in new tab).
Our verdict
Our verdict? Disney Plus is worth it, but mostly if you have kids
Disney Plus is slightly a more specialist offering than Netflix, aimed primarily at fans of Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars. It doesn't have the adult content or variety you'll find on other streaming services – unless you live outside the US and have access to Star – but that's okay, because inevitably you'll find something you want to watch on here.
The archive of Disney Plus content is amazing, and for Disney fans, that's reason enough to subscribe. If you've got children, the service is more of a no-brainer – especially for international subscribers who get Star, and will find the service more versatile.
The next year will be crucial for Disney Plus. Its initial offering of original shows has been solid, but slow, with only one of its tentpole shows (The Mandalorian, WandaVision, Loki) debuting new episodes at any one time. In a few years, though, with a regular rotation of Star Wars and Marvel shows to enjoy every few months, subscribing is going to become essential.
- Netflix vs Disney Plus: which is the better TV streaming platform?
Disney Plus FAQ
What is Disney Plus?
Like Netflix, this is a streaming service, but it's exclusively packed with content from the Disney stable, including movies and shows from the many production outfits (including Lucasfilm, Marvel and Pixar) it owns.
When did Disney Plus launch?
Disney Plus originally launched in November 2019 in the US.
What does Disney Plus cost?
$7.99 per month (with ads) or $10.99 (without ads) in the US (or $109.99 per year), $11.99 per month in Australia ($119.99 per year), $11.99 per month in Canada ($119.99 per year), and £7.99 per month in the UK (£79.90 per year).
Are there parental controls?
Yes. If you don't want your littlest ones watching something more mature like Black Widow or Pirates of the Caribbean, you can set an age restriction lock on certain accounts that will require a PIN to access those movies. The main account holder is in control of which accounts are age-restricted and up to seven profiles per account which can be modified this way.
Does Disney Plus have 4K streams?
Yes. Disney Plus supports 4K resolution, HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. You'll see whether movies on Disney Plus support it under the 'details' tab on the listing pages in the app.
Where can I find it?
Disney Plus is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, PS4, Xbox One, Amazon's devices, Roku devices, browsers, Android TV and the UK's Sky Q and Now TV.
Which Disney Plus channels are there?
There are no channels, as such, but there are five separate content hubs for Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel and National Geographic – as well as Star in many territories outside the US. It also features content from the 20th Century Fox stable, including 31 seasons of The Simpsons.
