Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for! Disney+ streaming service is finally here!!! First, no, I did not stay up until 1 AM to watch it go live! But, I do wake up at 4:30 every day, so I made sure to hop into my account as soon as I could! Let me tell you, there’s a bit to unpack here!
I was hesitant about signing up, back when I did, because I generally purchase movies I want to watch. So I already own all of the animated Disney classics. I own all of the Star Wars Movies. Of course, I have all of the Marvel movies.
So the question I had to ask myself, would the service really be beneficial to me? The answer is a RESOUNDING YES!
As I mentioned I signed up a bit ago (things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY Verizon!) because the service would be about $4/month for a couple of years. I thought it wasn’t a bad investment to try it out.
Now that I’m in though, I don’t think I’ll be giving this one up any time soon.
The app experience
First I logged in on my phone, which is an Android device (Samsung Galaxy Note 10+… see I just love things that are +!). The experience was great. I was browsing through movies and shows I had completely forgot existed like Tale Spin and Darkwing Duck!
You can download any of the shows to watch offline, and there is a handy Chromecast button so you can watch on the big screen.
Browsing through the content was super easy too. There are a lot of sections here that allow you to find exactly what you didn’t even know you were looking for. There is also a handy search button if you already know what you want to watch.
You can set up different profiles so the shows I’ve flagged to watch later won’t show up on my kid’s profiles, and their shows won’t show up on mine. You can customize the profile pic with some of the most popular Disney, Marvel or Star Wars characters. I chose Tinker Bell (who is my spirit animal).
My only complaint is that the profiles aren’t password-protected yet. So I can’t really lock down my account from being accessed by my child. However… I don’t think that’s a huge issue with this service… and here’s why.
When I installed the Roku app, I was disappointed to see that I had to use the on-screen keyboard to enter my username and password. They didn’t even try to make it a little easier by giving a few @gmail.com or @yahoo.com ready to use extensions to make it quick.
My passwords are complicated and lengthy, and typing them in an on-screen keyboard is a huge pain. I much prefer how many other platforms do it by giving you an on-screen code and letting me activate it from a computer. If they could add that feature soon, that would be great. kthanksbye!
The content
Since the service is by Disney, it has a TON of some of the most popular content already to work with. The majority of the content is actually pretty family-friendly. There wasn’t a ton of titles that would be troublesome for very sneaky kids. However, there is a toggle for the kid’s profiles to only show kid-appropriate content (again, it’s not password-protected, so your child could easily end up back in your profile.)
They really went after my own heart by even releasing a CHRISTMAS MOVIE!!!
The original content doesn’t stop there though. There are original shows like Encore, which brings High School drama teams back together to perform their show one more time, hosted by Kristen Bell.
They have more original movies and original shows, and I’m super excited to check them all out!
Release day glitches
So, I’m not sure if it’s because it’s day one, but both the Android app and the Roku app were really slow this morning. It was difficult to browse through a lot of content, as the list would come to an end and stop displaying, especially on the Roku
I’m sure they will get these things worked out, but it definitely tarnished an otherwise amazing experience.
The Roku app, in general, was definitely a lot slower than the Android app. Going between different settings was really sluggish. I’m sure these growing pains will get worked out though.
Bundles
Currently, you can purchase Disney+ (if you don’t have Verizon) as a stand-alone service, or for $12.99/month you can get Disney+, Hulu, and Espn+. The only downside to this bundle is that you can’t choose a higher tier to remove the ads on Hulu. We already pay for the ad-free Hulu, so we will keep those separate for the time being.
If you have the regular Hulu or no Hulu at all, and you love sports, this would be a fantastic option for you! You would have most of the network TV shows (except CBS), live sports AND all the great Disney content!
Limitations
There are a few limitations to the new service. You are only able to stream from 4 devices at any one given moment in time, but you can install or activate the app on up to 10 devices. I’m fine with the 4 streams at once limit, but the 10 device limit is a little ridiculous. If I want to install the app on the phones, and tablets, and all the Roku’s in the house, and the PlayStation, I’ll be hitting that 10 device limit really quick.
Platforms
You can download and use the Disney+ app on your Roku, Android or iOS device. It is also available for gaming systems like the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, and Apple TV. You also have the option of Smart TVs like LG, Samsung and other Android-based Smart TVs like my Sony. Also, you can just view it right in your browser on the web. Basically, they released it for any platform you would want to view it on.
Overall thoughts
The Disney+ service is everything I wanted it to be and a little bit more. It’s definitely going to go in my must-have subscription list for a long long time.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using the links.
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