A year after Disney announced it was ending its partnership with Netflix to build their own streaming platform, Disney+ is finally here! On its launch day, everyone everywhere was a little shook on how much media they actually have. Generational cuspers had a blast to the past with every DCOM ever made, Pixar lovers got every (if not, at least most) Pixar movie ever made, Marvel lovers got the entire cinematic universe library, and Star Wars fans received the entire movie catalog and a new series. To say the least, it has a lot! But is it worth it? A lot of people don’t want to pay another monthly fee when they already have Netflix and Hulu. It would be much easier to have Disney arrange a better deal with the platforms. However, they would never do that. So, here’s my first impressions on the newest streaming platform.
In order to give the best breakdown of the platform, I’ve created 3 categories in which to rate it on. This is a direct competitor to Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime, but there may also be some comparisons to other streaming services.
Ease of Use: 4/5
On its first day, many users reported issues regarding streaming and being able to access the site. While these are important, they shouldn’t be held against the service. It was the first day of the new platform, so there were bound to be a lot of error messages. I never had these issues, but since then most of them seem to have been resolved. In other words, don’t let these stories scare you from getting the program. It’s easy to find new movies and old movies, or if you want to search for a movie it’s fairly easy. The biggest thing it lacks is a place to nicely pick up where you left off on the shows you’re currently watching, similar to the keep watching tab under Hulu’s main page. In order to do this you must search whatever you were watching. While this is very much a first world problem, it’s still annoying.
Ease of Access: 5/5
The app or website is available on pretty much every device. It’s available for Android, iOS devices, Roku tvs, Xbox*, Playstation, Chromecast and the Amazon Fire store. If you have any of these, you should have no problem gaining access to the platform.
*Disney+ is only available on Xbox models One, One S and One X
Price/Plans: 5/5
In my opinion, the price for Disney+ is very reasonable. It’s $6.99 a month or a $69.99 yearly fee for the basic plan. Currently there are two different plan types. They offer a Disney only plan, which only gives you access to Disney+. They also offer a Disney, Hulu and ESPN bundle for $12.99 (this plan does not come with a yearly payment plan).
Original Shows: 4/5
There is a small amount of original programming, most of which are more documentary/reality type shows. The scripted lineup includes Noelle, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Lady and The Tramp and The Mandelorian. Disney plans to release more original programming, including a slew of Marvel shows, like WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and Winter Soldier and Hawkeye.
Who’s it best for?
I would say Disney+ is best for Marvel or Star Wars lovers, Disney lovers and families. If you’re looking for programming that will push the boundaries of television and bring controversial topics to light, I would say skip. Even now, I would expect future Marvel items to be more watered down versions of what we’ve seen before. If you grew up on Disney Channel Movies or shows, then this is also perfect for you. If you’ve been itching to watch more international Disney shows, they offer shows from Central America and the United Kingdom.
So should you pass or pay? Being a Disney fan, I would personally highly recommend the platform. I even more highly recommend it to families, as this is the best way to have a family night without renting a new movie all the time or paying $25+ for a DVD. It also has so much more than Disney. If you’re a Marvel fan who wants to watch the entire movie catalog, you’ll be pressed to find the earlier movies and not have to pay more than $6.99. Same with the Star Wars movies. Pixar movies are even harder to find streaming than your average Disney movies. Keep in mind, while it’s a huge Netflix competitor, I do not think it’s a Netflix replacement. That being said, if it can fit in your budget this is a nice add on that I highly reccomend.