Just a few days ago, Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) launched Disney+, a streaming service where Disney fanatics can watch magical classics, new releases, childhood shows, and more. Surprisingly, the cost isn’t as bad as one would expect. There are two options to choose from when purchasing the service: fans can either get Disney+ for $6.99 a month or Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99 a month. My family and I have always had our curiosity with Hulu and we love our sports, so it was fitting for us to buy the bundle.
Disney+ contains movies and shows from Walt Disney Studios, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and National Geographic. You can watch anything from Disney Channel’s Kim Possible to Pixar’s A Bug’s Life to Marvel’s The Avengers to National Geographic’s Earth Live. Aside from the thousands of options to choose from, Disney+ also includes 25 original series and 10 new original films. However, you might not find everything you want. Currently, DTCI is viewing the new launch as a “trial period” to see how well the streaming service will do. Within a few months (no specific date yet), they will be adding more to the list.
As a huge Disney fan, I cannot begin to describe how overwhelmingly excited I was when I heard the announcement and the date when the launch will be. When November 12th finally came around (it seemed like I was waiting FOREVER), you can bet your life I stayed up all night watching my all-time favorites.
Personally, I find Disney+ as a dream come true; I love being able to have access to most of my favorite movies and shows. As biased as I am, I’ve decided it best to refrain from talking about how wonderful I think it is, and to reach out and see what opinions everyone else has. Below is a list of pros and cons from others who’ve jumped on the Disney+ train.
Pros
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“If you’re a Disney fan, you now have access to a lot of movies that were in the vault and really hard to access legally before,” (Mae Bennett)
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Unrivaled prices that undercut competing services
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Packages available that bundle multiple sites alongside Disney+ for a low price
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High budget original content exclusively available on their service
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Nearly 500 movies and 7,500 episodes on television ready to stream on day one
Cons
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“If each company continues making their own streaming service, we’re back to what we were trying to avoid with cable TV,” (Mae Bennett)
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“I don’t think that there’s an area for movies or shows that you’ve already started watching where you can go finish watching them,” (Tiffany Ballou)
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A vast majority of content is exclusively a Disney production, currently lacking the diversity seen on Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.
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Content is aimed toward a younger demographic; adults may want more mature movies and television shows
In time we will see how well Disney+ competes against other streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. With over 10 million subscribers so far (as of November 13th), Disney+ is looking to be another successful business venture for the House of Mouse.