How to watch Disney Plus

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Disney Plus burst onto the scene in the UK to much fanfare in March 2020 and in the 2 years since it has brought Disney classics, incredible true story documentaries and massive original series to its platform.

When the Walt Disney company announced they would be releasing their own streaming service back in November 2018, there was huge excitement and wonder at just how Disney Plus would look and feel, with the films and TV series available traditionally being aimed at a younger market.

But with the acquisitions that Disney has made over the years there is more mature content available to customers than you could have ever thought. Purchasing huge companies and brands such as Marvel and Star Wars has elevated Disney’s vast library to new heights, with their streaming service now home to award winning Star Wars spin off and original series The Mandalorian, among others.

We’re going to run through all the available streaming TV, from live action to family fun to exclusive originals. Disney Plus is the streaming home for many favourites – and some lesser known gems.

What is Disney Plus?

Disney Plus operates like many other streaming services available, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, in that you pay a monthly subscription fee for unlimited access to their streaming site. Disney Plus is available via a number of devices and on web browsers once you sign up to an account.

How much does Disney Plus cost?

Disney Plus offer a number of options for customers to subscribe to the streaming service. The basic plan on offer is £7.99 per month (a price increase came in February 2021 from £6.99), though you can purchase an annual subscription at £79.90 – a 15% discount on the monthly cost.

When it launched, Disney Plus did offer a free trial period, though that has now been discontinued and the Disney Plus free trial isn’t available anywhere in the world. However, there are other Disney Plus offers you can take advantage of from time to time.

One account is all you need, too, as you can register up to 10 devices and stream up to four screens at once.

Disney Plus Premier Access

In the height of – and because of – the Covid-19 pandemic, Disney launched an add on service to Disney Plus with Premier Access in September 2020.

Initially rolled out along with the live action remake of the Disney classic Mulan so families could watch the new movie from the comfort of their home, Premier Access has remained an option for existing subscribers.

Premier Access is available at a one-off price – currently £19.99 – which unlocks new releases on the streaming service so you can watch with your family from the comfort of your own home, instead of going to the cinema.

Premier Access is unlocked by selecting a new movie and clicking ‘get Premier Access’ below the titles, which takes the customer through to the payment screen.

What’s on Disney Plus?

Disney Plus has expanded its library from the original line up to include exclusive originals, TV series, movie remakes of classics such as the Lion King (as well as the classic animated movies), Pixar favourites and huge Hollywood movies from Marvel Studios, the entire Star Wars catalogue, documentaries and more. For new shows and movies, check out what’s streaming on Disney Plus this month.

Disney Classics

One of the top draws of Disney Plus is the streaming availability of the entire back catalogue of animated Disney classics, such as Cinderella, Jungle Book and Dumbo all readily available to watch on demand. The service is a huge hit with Disney fans due to the often elusive nature of some of their DVDs, with limited releases in cycles creating the well-known Disney vault.

New Disney movies

New Disney movies are available to watch on Disney Plus, either as part of Premier Access or, usually, free to stream at a later date. If that isn’t enough – remakes of popular classics such as The Lion King and Mulan are there to access – new content in the form of popular family movies like Luca and Encanto have been released direct to Disney Plus, without the need to purchase through a Premier account.

Pixar

Disney’s Pixar has been the source of many family favourites since the turn of the century, with modern classics such as Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Cars all free to watch on Disney Plus.

Of course, recent mammoth movies such as Frozen and Frozen 2 are both available, and so too are Disney Originals that haven’t premiered in cinemas but went straight to the streaming service, with releases like Onward, Luca and Encanto capturing the hearts of the UK public.

Catch all the Pixar movies, new and old, now on Disney Plus.

Star Wars

When Disney purchased Star Wars in 2012 there was a mixed reaction to the merger, with many hardcore Star Wars fans dubious as to what would happen with their beloved universe. Fast forward 10 years and multiple films and TV series later, it’s been a huge success.

While the new cinematic trilogy brought a divided opinion, the multiple exclusive original series curated by Disney and available only on Disney Plus have received critical acclaim. Starting with the infallible The Mandalorian, introducing a new Disney-esq merchandise mammoth Baby Yoda and gritty story telling, the television series was a huge hit.

Since followed by series such as Book of Boba Fett and a new TV series soon in the form of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney’s acquisition of the Star Wars world now looks like a bit of a masterstroke.

Find all the main Star Wars movies, including the original Star Wars trilogy and the new trilogy, spin off movies such as Solo: A Star Wars Story, all the animated series of the Star Wars: Clone Wars and the exclusive originals, all available through Disney Plus.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Disney bought Marvel Studios way back in 2009 and continued to produce incredible blockbuster movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they’ve also followed a similar pattern as with Star Wars in that they’ve created original series in the MCU that are exclusive to Disney Plus.

The latest in line up is Moon Knight, available to watch alongside Wandavision, Loki and all the MCU timeline of movies that started with Iron Man back in 2008, right at home on your Smart TVs or available to stream online in the UK.

Star TV entertainment

Star TV was launched on the Disney Plus platform in February 2021 as a kind of app within the streaming service, with Disney gaining rights to host and stream some of the biggest TV series ever created.

Watch episodes from the likes of The Simpsons, X-Files, Walking Dead and movies such as Mrs Doubtfire, thanks to Disney’s agreement with 20th Century Fox. Your favourite stories from the past and present, all accessible from Disney Plus.

National Geographic

National Geographic has been part of Disney Plus since its inception, bringing another string to the streaming service’s bow. Offering nature documentaries as a part of its offering gives customers more reasons to subscribe, with the unique show The World According to Jeff Goldblum proving a hit with documentary fans – the second season aired in November 2021 and is another of Disney’s efforts at original series on their streaming platform.

Disney Plus features

There are multiple features to take advantage of when you download Disney Plus. As previously mentioned, you can watch on up to four screens at once on various supported devices in the UK, as well as family-safe features such as parental controls, a handy tool to allow parents to prevent their children from accessing older content.

You can have multiple profiles in your one Disney Plus account, so different people can watch their favourite series without interruption, and you can also take advantage of the GroupWatch feature from Disney. GroupWatch allows multiple people in different households to watch the same show or movie at the same time – perfect for getting family and friends together at a distance!

Keep your eyes peeled for more film, TV and amazing content from Disney Plus in the near future – but there’s plenty to keep you going for now.

How to stream with Disney Plus

Disney Plus is compatible with several streaming devices, whether you’re watching TV at home or on the go. Even better, Disney Plus’ single-tier plan allows customers to stream on up to 4 devices at the same time.

Compatible devices

When Disney Plus launched in the UK in 2020, Disney engaged launch partners Sky and O2, making the streaming service available to O2 customers Sky customers. Ever since, Disney Plus has been an accessible app on Sky’s service, and has launched apps on various TV services since.

You can download Disney Plus as an app on most Smart TVs, via the app store on both Apple and Android devices, on Playstation, Xbox and more. Catch your favourite TV Series, Disney Classics and the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe however you like as soon as you sign up.

Check out the full range of devices and places to watch Disney Plus below:

To explore more streaming options, you can compare and contrast each streaming service on offer.