Disney Plus What Will Be Available at Launch

Disney+ UK info

(Image credit: Disney)

Disney+ UK price: £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year

Disney+ UK release date: 24 March 2020

Disney+ content libraries: Disney, Marvel, The Simpsons, Pixar, Star Wars, Star, National Geographic

Disney+ app selection: Android devices, Apple devices, Chromecast, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Roku, Web browser, Nintendo Switch

Disney+ UK: Sign up now

Disney Plus (often styled Disney+) is going from strength to strength, and as we note in our Disney Plus review, it brings subscribers a wealth of streaming video entertainment on demand – including the mega hits Hamilton, WandaVision, Loki, Cruella, Frozen 2 and Luca.

The streaming service combines landmark shows like The Mandalorian and Loki with a simply monstrous amount of content from Disney Plus' content libraries, libraries that now includes the complete Star collection of films and TV shows, as well as the full works of Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, The Simpsons and National Geographic.

The service now has over 100 million subscribers worldwide, and that enormous success means Disney can now double down on the new content it's bringing to the platform. Each year, Disney Plus is now committed to bring at least 100 new pieces of content.

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Our unbeatable T3 guide to Disney Plus provides everything you need to know about the service: the movies and shows you can watch, the best Disney Plus subscription deals, tips for watching Disney Plus, and much more. Disney Plus has rapidly grown to be one of the major video streaming services on the planet, and this article will help you make the most of it.

If you haven't yet signed up for the Disney Plus party, Disney Plus UK pricing is set at £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year. Here at T3 we think that the £79.90 option is the best as it offers the greatest value for money. It is also a pay once and forget deal, meaning you unlock 365 days of entertainment in return for one low fee.

This detailed Disney Plus UK guide has all the info you're going to need, including a rundown of the Disney Plus apps, the 4K and HDR Disney Plus movies and shows you can enjoy, the audio and video streaming quality on offer, the latest Disney Plus news and more. It's the web's best guide to Disney Plus, and it's right here.

So if you've got questions such as "what does Disney Plus offer?", "how much does Disney Plus cost?", "when can I sign up for Disney Plus?", "which Disney Plus channels do I get?", and "what devices run Disney Plus?" then this guide has an answer for you.

It's clear that the streaming wars are now at their absolute peak, with services such as Apple TV Plus and Paramount Plus joining Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in competing for your attention, but as this guide shows, Disney Plus is rapidly becoming the front runner and can more than hold its own against the competition. Let's get on to the important stuff of how you can sign up, and how much you can expect to pay.

(Image credit: Disney)

Disney Plus: why you should sign up right now

When you consider everything that Disney Plus has to offer – from Toy Story to Star Wars – as well as all the stuff that's on the way, it's no surprise that Disney Plus is attracting a lot of interest: this is a library of films and shows that's very hard to beat.

Right now, we'd say Disney Plus has a great opportunity to replace Netflix as the streaming service that people register for first, and cancel last – it has an absolutely massive library of content to draw on, content that's being pulled off its competitors' platforms as it appears on Disney Plus.

Most importantly, though, it is frequently delivering brand new top-tier content for its subscribers like Raya and the Last Dragon, WandaVision, Loki, Cruella and much more. Disney Plus is managing to both deliver a epic selection of pre-existing content as well as totally new content, too.

(Image credit: Disney)

Disney Plus price and best deals

Disney+ is competitively priced all across the world, and Disney+ UK is no exception to that: you'll pay £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year for  the service (about £6.65 a month). By comparison, Netflix starts at £5.99 a month, but to get HD and Ultra HD quality, you need to up that to £11.99 a month.

Before Disney+ launched in the UK, you could bag yourself a whole year of access to the streaming service for £49.99, but we haven't seen a deal that good since the platform went live. However, if you're an O2 customer you can grab six months of Disney Plus free (you'll need to sign up for a new contract or upgrade your existing one).

It's worth noting that taking a break at any point is fine: Disney Plus can be cancelled whenever you like through the website or apps – just like Netflix – so you can stop and restart your Disney+ subscription at any point. Don't feel like you're trapping yourself into a long-term commitment.

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Coming soon to Disney Plus

(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

As well as the wealth of content already on Disney Plus, there are plenty of movies and shows coming down the pipe as well – which means your subscription fee is going to become better and better value over time.

Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated incoming TV show is the Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, reprising their roles from the movie prequels. We don't actually have a premiere date for that, but it's in development now. Sticking with the Star Wars theme, there's also the spin-off of The Mandalorian called The Book Of Boba Fett, and that's due to drop in December 2021.

A third season of The Mandalorian will be arriving at some point in the future too, while on the Marvel side we have a Hawkeye TV show to look forward to – that should be out by the end of 2021 as well. Other television shows confirmed to be on the way include ones focused on Willow, Percy Jackson, Moana, Cars, Turner And Hooch, and plenty more besides.

When it comes to films, we know that Black Widow is going to make its Premiere Access debut on July 9 (so you'll need to pay extra to see it early). Other movies in production include a live-action version of Pinocchio, Sister Act 3, and Hocus Pocus 2, so there's plenty to look forward to.

(Image credit: Disney Plus)

Disney Plus channels, movies and TV shows

There's obviously stacks of content on Disney+ in the form of movies and TV shows, such as the 2021 hits WandaVision and Loki, and the selection continues to expand all the time. With the coronavirus-related closure of cinemas, some movies are arriving earlier than expected, too, such as the live recording of Hamilton on Broadway and Black Widow.

The UK has lagged behind the US in some cases, however. Don't panic if you notice slight discrepancies such as these while you're comparing the library content between different countries. You might see other programming variations between countries as time goes on. But recently we've been seeing content go live basically at the same time around the world.

(Image credit: Walt Disney Pictures)

Onward and Artemis Fowl are other cinema releases that were made available on Disney Plus earlier than they would typically have been, while Cruella is another major movie that recently launched in the platform and attracted a lot of eyeballs.

If you're wondering what the incoming Disney Plus highlights of 2021 are, Disney has very helpfully put together a trailer showing some of the highlights, which we've embedded below. We've also put together our own curated list of the best of Disney Plus in 2021.

There's not much chance to catch your breath: news of fresh content on Disney+ is arriving all the time, with Disney bosses keen to keep people coming back to the service as regularly as possible.

The Disney team is busy working on content from home as well during the coronavirus outbreak – check out one of the Frozen shorts that was put together remotely below. This isn't exclusive to Disney+ but it shows how the production studio team is keeping itself busy.

Big blockbuster movies like the updated Lion King and the new version of Aladdin are included in the Disney Plus library, as is the second series of The Mandalorian and Falcon And The Winter Soldier, and the recently launched The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Big Pixar animated movies such as Soul and Luca have dropped on Disney Plus in recent months, giving you even more choice. We've also seen the addition of new features as well as new content – including the GroupWatch option enabling you to watch programming live with friends over the internet.

(Image credit: Disney)

And the content just keeps on coming: in recent months we've seen the arrival of Black Panther on Disney Plus, for example, alongside new episodes for the The Clone Wars, the animated Star Wars show, and the arrival of The Rise Of Skywalker. We've gone through some of this material in more depth in the sections below.

Disney is understandably keen to promote its material as well, making the most of any award nominations and wins that it gets – see the way that it celebrated Toy Story 4 winning the 2020 Academy Award for Best Animated feature, for example. Look for more prizes in the months and years ahead.

(Image credit: Disney)

Have a browse through what's available in the various sections of Disney+ and you can't fail to be impressed. From Moana to Thor: Ragnarok, from High School Musical to Agents Of SHIELD, from Big Hero 6 to Pirates Of The Caribbean, from Finding Dory to Mary Poppins Returns... there's a lot here.

There are some fantastic movies and shows in the National Geographic channel as well, including Free Solo, Before The Flood, and Miracle Landing On The Hudson. If you're at all interested in the planet and its wildlife, there's a treasure trove of stuff to work your way through.

In some cases – The Lion King, Aladdin, Dumbo – you've got both the original movie and the more recent remake to enjoy. Perhaps you could show your kids both back-to-back and ask them which they enjoy the most...

Witness the heart of a survivor. Watch the new trailer for #Togo, an Original Movie streaming Dec. 20, only on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/M6OsTj3DfsDecember 4, 2019

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Disney is also pushing original movies to the service: check out Togo, starring Willem Dafoe and Julianne Nicholson, which is based on a true story. It looks like classic Disney fare, as you can see from the trailer above.

We also know that Avatar is making its streaming debut on Disney Plus, announced via a couple of tweets from the official account – it's available to watch now. If you want to dive back into the world of Pandora and the Na'vi people, then the Disney Plus streaming service is the place to do it.

(Image credit: Disney)

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Disney Plus: Star

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

The addition of Star content to Disney Plus means there's even more to enjoy on the platform now. It's mostly older content from Disney's various production houses, but it's all really good fare – we've got shows including The X-Files, Lost, 24, Family Guy and Prison Break for example, as well as the likes of Atlanta, Desperate Housewives and How I Met Your Mother.

There are originals to enjoy as well, such as Helstrom, Victor, Next and Dollface, with more on the way: look out for the comic book adaptation Y: The Last Man and the spy drama The Old Man, starring Jeff Bridges. All this extra material means a Disney Plus subscription is better value than ever before.

Disney Plus: Star Wars

The Mandalorian, a Disney+ exclusive.

(Image credit: Disney)

Disney has some big-hitting franchises to call on for its Disney Plus service, but there's none bigger than Star Wars – Disney paid George Lucas a cool $4 billion for the western-in-space property back in 2012, and since then we've seen numerous films and shows from the universe appearing on screens.

Brand new, live action Star Wars series The Mandalorian has been attracting the most buzz as far as new Disney+ shows go, and you can check out a trailer below. The first two series are now available to stream in the UK, with several spin-off shows on the way as well.

You can now watch all nine of the main Star Wars films on Disney+, plus Solo and Rogue One, with the original trilogy available in 4K HDR quality for the first time. On top of that you've got documentaries and animated series, including five seasons of The Clone Wars. A series based on Obi-Wan Kenobi is in development too.

If you wanted to set up the ultimate Star Wars movie marathon, Disney Plus gives you the chance. Go from episode I to episode IX, or watch them in the order they were released at cinemas, or watch them backwards, it's really up to you.

As well as The Mandalorian, plenty of other exclusive Star Wars TV shows are coming to Disney+.

(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

We've also heard that a spin-off series based around the Rogue One movie is on the way, focusing on the character of Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna. Shooting is due to begin this year on that, so we might see it in 2021.

You can expect future Star Wars movies to appear on Disney Plus UK too, even if Disney is now wary of making too many of them (Taika Waititi is the latest big name to take on a film). Disney is rightfully proud of its Star Wars library, and that should show in the Star Wars section of Disney Plus.

Disney Plus: Marvel

(Image credit: Disney Plus)

Disney Plus UK subscribers can also immerse themselves in the Marvel universe: it's the perfect streaming platform for fans of Marvel superhero content new and old: several original series are available, including Loki and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. More are on the way, such as a Hawkeye show (which has been delayed but not cancelled, apparently).

Older animations are here as well, including Spider-Man and X-Men series, so wherever you want to start with Marvel material, the Disney Plus service has you covered. Speaking of X-Men, you'll find all of those movies here as well.

Then there are the movies: Ant-Man, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World are all now available on Disney+, with Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp landing more recently.

Future Marvel movies will all make their way to the streaming service as well of course. Black Widow is making its premiere on July 9, 2021, though you'll need to pay extra to watch it at the same time that it's in cinemas. It will become part of the standard Disney Plus package at a later date.

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

In an interview with Bloomberg, Marvel chief creative officer Kevin Feige has confirmed that anyone who wants to "understand everything" in future Marvel movies is going to have to pick up a Disney Plus subscription, so it's worth signing up. The original Disney Plus content will feature information that'll help you understand what happens next in the next phase of the movies.

More recently, we've heard that a couple of Marvel Universe shows might be in development: one is said to be based around the Secret Invasion comic and the shape-shifting aliens known as the Krulls. To work out when new content is going to drop, the best place to keep tabs on is probably Twitter – see below for one example.

Primeiras fotos de Anthony Mackie no set de "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"📸: @statice1213 & justbeachy4stacy/IG pic.twitter.com/BGyQK1Dn4CNovember 20, 2019

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Disney Plus: The Simpsons

(Image credit: Fox)

Then there's The Simpsons: the classic comedy is into its 31st season now, having completed more than 650 episodes, and they're (almost) all on Disney Plus, thanks to the Disney acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Future episodes will be available to stream as well, though it's not exactly clear how long they'll take to arrive.

If you're a passionate fan of the adventures of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the rest of the crew, then that's one more reason to sign up for Disney Plus. Watching all the episodes of The Simpsons back-to-back sounds like the ultimate binge watch.

Now, everybody smile. @TheSimpsons are coming to #DisneyPlus. Start streaming November 12. pic.twitter.com/M8zTYmELb7October 28, 2019

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When it comes to the UK, Disney has now confirmed that more than 600 episodes of The Simpsons are going to be available in the UK (see tweet below). That's not all of them, but it's a significant percentage, and we've got a few recommendations about which episodes to watch first.

For the time being at least, it looks as though The Simpsons is going to show up on both Sky and Disney+. It's a sign of the tricky rights issues that Disney has to work through in all the countries that it's operating in, with certain movies and TV shows appearing on multiple platforms simultaneously.

Over 600 episodes of The Simpsons + Disney + Pixar + Marvel + Star Wars + Nat Geo = 🤯 D'oh not miss out! pic.twitter.com/IqRM1BXU6CMarch 4, 2020

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Disney Plus: Pixar

(Image credit: Disney Plus)

If you love Pixar content then Disney Plus is perfect for you. Recently launched movies such as Luca and Soul can only be watched on this particular streaming platform, so if you're a fan of high-quality animation then it's a must. There are also short animated spin-offs of these movies too, and others like Inside Out.

Some of the Pixar movies you can enjoy on Disney Plus right now include The Good Dinosaur, the Monsters Inc movies, the Incredibles movies, and all four Toy Story films. You've got Cars, and Coco, and Wall-E, and much more, so it's going to take a long time for you (and your kids) to get through everything.

Disney Plus streaming, content and image quality

Watch The Mandalorian in HDR 4K with Disney+.

(Image credit: Disney)

When it comes to devices and quality Disney Plus can be streamed on up to four devices at the same time in lovely 4K HDR with any package. Disney Plus comes with support for both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos too, so if you have the right hardware setup you'll be able to enjoy an incredibly immersive, cinema-grade audio-visual experience.

Disney has a lot of older content of course, so not everything is available in 4K UHD at the moment. Some of the content already in 4K includes the first Frozen movie, the original Lion King, the original Star Wars trilogy and all the Marvel movies currently screening, so that's a good selection to get you going. Older content may well get upgraded in the future too.

Overall, the streaming quality of Disney+, and the number of audio and visual technologies it supports, is impressive, and compares well to other streaming services. Disney has confirmed that its apps can adjust video quality if you're on a less-than-stellar Wi-Fi or cellular connection, as well.

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Disney Plus app and features

You can easily select to watch The Mandalorian through the Disney+ app.

(Image credit: Future)

No matter what device you're using, the Disney Plus apps are a breeze to use. Whether you're on Android or an iPhone, an Xbox One or a PS4, a Roku stick, a Now TV box or an Amazon Fire TV stick, you can start watching in seconds.

If you're on a laptop, you can log into Disney+ on the web as well to start watching. There are also some keyboard shortcuts you can take advantage of too, to save you reaching for the mouse – they include Space to pause (and play again), M to mute, and the left and right arrow keys to rewind and fast forward.

As with Netflix, after you've signed up you can set up multiple user accounts on the Disney+ service, so everyone in the family can keep their own viewing history and recommendations separate – just select your avatar on the web or in the app to create a new profile. Basic parental controls are included too.

(Image credit: Samsung)

As time goes on, the streaming service is making it to more and more places too, with Tesla boss Elon Musk confirming that Disney+ is eventually going to make it to the console inside his company's electric cars. We've also been promised that it'll appear on the Nintendo Switch, though that's still "coming soon".

As far as smart TVs go, check with your manufacturer: Samsung smart TVs running the Tizen OS (basically anything from 2016 and later) have a dedicated Disney+ app, so you can get up and running straight away, and other manufacturers offer similar apps. For other TVs without dedicated Disney Plus functionality, you could always use a Chromecast or a similar device.

When you get to the actual Disney Plus interface, it makes use of the familiar rows of shows and movies arranged in blocks, so they're easy to scroll through when you're looking for something to watch. Content is sorted into major hubs: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.

(Image credit: Disney)

Offline support is included, so content from Disney Plus can be saved to devices like smartphones and tablets, ready for watching without an internet connection. That should come in handy if you're travelling away from home and want to take the Marvel Cinematic Universe with you.

There have been a few hiccups along the way: Disney Plus suffered some downtime across the world at the start of 2020, though it only lasted a few hours. If something has gone wrong with the Disney servers, you'll probably see an "error 83" message on your device. On the whole though, it's a reliable and stable service. Enjoy your streaming!

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Disney Plus What Will Be Available at Launch

Source: https://www.t3.com/au/feature/disney-plus-live-march-2021