If you’re reading this, you’re either considering a Disney Plus subscription, but are concerned about the monthly fee, or you’re a subscriber who’s wondering how to make the Disney Plus cost worth it.
In either case, we’re here to help. Disney Plus has been around since Nov. 2019, enticing Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney fans with their original series and library of iconic movies. But we’ve also seen the Disney Plus cost quickly rise from their introductory price of $6.99/month. And now they’ve raised prices again as of today, Oct. 12 — and will crack down on account sharing starting Nov. 1.
The Disney Plus Premium subscription (the one with no ads) increased to $13.99/month in the U.S. That’s a 27% jump from the previous $10.99/month cost. Now there are some ways to “save” with the Hulu/ESPN bundles, but overall streaming services are looking for ways to stop losing money and start making some. We’ll get into the different ways the Disney Plus cost is changing.
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The Disney Plus cost for a Premium subscription (no ads) is now $13.99/month.
As of today, Oct. 12, 2023, the Disney Plus costs $13.99/month (or $139.99/year if you pull the annual subscription in full). However there are ad-supported tiers that will still cost you, but a little less. Here’s how your options break down:
- Disney+ Premium (with no ads): $13.99/month
- Hulu (no ads): $17.99/month
- Both Disney+ and Hulu ad-supported tiers: $7.99/month each
- Bundled Disney+ and Hulu: $9.99/month
Hulu+ Live TV packages are getting a price hike, too.
Not to be left out, your Hulu+ Live TV subscription got a noticeable price increase as well. Effective today, the Hulu+ Live TV package with ads is $76.99/month. Without ads? It is $89.99/month. If you’re an ESPN+ subscriber, your plan increased to $10.99/month (from the previous rate of $9.99/month).
How much do you save by paying for an annual subscription instead of monthly?
The Disney Plus subscription now costs $13.99 per month or $139.99 once a year. Think about it — if you pay the annual fee, it’s the equivalent of 10 monthly payments. You get two months free! (You’re saving $27.98.)
Is there a Disney Plus free trial?
Sadly, not anymore. When Disney Plus first launched, they offered a free 30-day trial for first-time subscribers — that is, until June 2020.
The Disney Plus free trial doesn’t exist anymore, so you’ll have to pay for a month of service to get a Disney Plus subscription. But you can cancel anytime (unless you paid for the annual membership).
Hulu has a free trial, though!
Can I share my Disney Plus account with friends and family?
Remember when Netflix cracked down on password sharing and made a ruckus with subscribers? Disney Plus is following in their footsteps. Although each Disney Plus account allows up to four viewers at a time, new rules specify that none of those viewers can be outside your household.
Like Netflix, Disney Plus makes users pick a “home base” location where everyone using the account should be. If someone logs in from a different place for too long (some say it’s after 31 days), Disney will pause their account. No word yet on whether Disney Plus will offer a special “paid sharing” subscription like Netflix.
This new policy starts in Canada on Nov. 1, 2023, and will make its way to the U.S. soon after.
Note: Technically, you could get around the password sharing by making sure anyone using your account outside the home logs in from your home Wi-Fi at least once a month.
Why should I get the Disney Plus Bundle?
If you’re like me, I basically traded my cable bill for a ton of different streaming subscriptions. It can add up, so if you’re interested in saving money on the cost of Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus, the Disney Plus Bundle is a rare way to save money on multiple services.
There are two different Disney Plus Bundle options:
Disney Plus Bundle (with Ads): $14.99/month
Includes Disney Plus with Ads (regularly $7.99/month), Hulu with Ads (regularly $7.99/month), and ESPN Plus (regularly $10.99/month). You’d pay $26.97/month separately.
Disney Plus Bundle (without Ads): $24.99/month
Includes Disney Plus ad-free (regularly $13.99/month), Hulu ad-free (regularly $17.99/month), and ESPN Plus with ads (regularly $10.99/month). You’d pay $42.97/month separately.
Are there any Disney Plus Black Friday deals? Any Disney Plus Day deals?
Official Disney Plus discounts are rare, except in November. You typically get two opportunities to save money on subscriptions: During the annual Disney Plus Day (Nov. 12 in 2021 and Sept. 8 in 2022) and during Black Friday weekend after Thanksgiving. No word yet on deals for 2023. Here’s what we’ve seen:
- Disney Plus Day Deal 2022: $1.99 for the first month of Disney Plus
- Disney Plus Black Friday Deal 2021: $1.99 for the first month of Disney Plus (75.1% off)
- Disney Plus Day Deal 2021: $1.99 for the first month of Disney Plus (75.1% off)
- Disney Plus Black Friday Deal 2020: $93.84 for the Disney Bundle when you buy a year in advance (44.1% discount for the year)
TIP: Past offers from other companies have included six months free with an Amazon Unlimited Music subscription, a free Disney Plus bundle (with ads) with Verizon, and special 3-months-free deal for Fortnite players.
Can I get a discount with a Disney Plus gift card?
One of the many benefits of having a Target RedCard is getting a 5% discount on gift cards, and you can purchase a Disney Plus gift card at Target using your Target RedCard to get a 5% discount on your Disney Plus purchase.
That means that if you buy a Disney Plus gift card with Target RedCard to pay for a whole year of service at a time, you’ll end up saving nearly 21% on the monthly Disney Plus cost.
TIP: Make sure you’re getting a Disney Plus gift card, not a regular Disney gift card; you can’t pay for your Disney Plus account with Disney gift cards.
How many screens can you stream Disney Plus at a time?
How many people can watch Disney Plus at once? Even though your Disney Plus account lets you create up to seven profiles per subscription, they have a limit of four screens watching simultaneously.
You can watch Disney Plus on nearly every video streaming device: Smartphones, Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Samsung TV, LG TV, PlayStation, and Xbox.
How can I conserve phone battery when using the Disney Plus app?
Top-quality streams aren’t always the way to go, especially if you’re limited on your data plan. Luckily, Disney Plus allows you to adjust the data usage to Wi-Fi only in the app setting so you won’t have to worry.
Of course, if you want to stream content outside a Wi-Fi connection, you’re able to do that with an “Automatic” setting that’ll download 2GB per hour or the “Save Data” setting that’ll download 0.6 GB per hour. (You don’t need 4K on a tiny phone screen, anyway.)
What is Disney Plus Group Watch and how can I use it?
Disney Plus Group Watch is a feature that comes with every Disney Plus account that you can use to watch movies and shows with people far away. All you have to do is pick the show or movie you want to watch and then find the 3-headed Group Watch icon near the Play button.
It’ll give you a personalized link that you can send to friends so you and up to six other people can all watch together. And no, they don’t have to be on your account.
TIP: If you want to watch with more than six people, use Teleparty (formally Netflix Party), a free extension for your web browser. Everyone will need a Disney Plus account, but it can host a lot more people.
How can I download Disney Plus shows for offline viewing?
Everything on Disney Plus is available for offline viewing to subscribers via the Disney Plus app. You can download as many shows or movies as your device can handle. Make sure to log in to your Disney Plus app once a month or else the shows will be deleted from your app.
All you have to do is select the movie or show you want to watch and tap the download icon (which looks like a downward arrow) at the top right of the screen. The show will show up on your “Downloads” tab in the bottom right menu.
TIP: You can also restrict the amount of data you use on your phone by going to your profile and setting “Download Over Wi-Fi Only” in your “Account Settings.”
Where can I watch all the new Disney Plus Marvel shows?
Disney Plus is home to all of the exclusive new Disney Plus Marvel shows — like She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Loki, and What If? — as well as Star Wars shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Plus, they’re constantly coming out with new content for users to enjoy. You can’t watch any of these shows anywhere else.
You can also watch the hit Broadway show Hamilton without spending over $100 for a ticket; the original cast recording of the musical is streaming on Disney Plus.
Can I watch IMAX Enhanced movies on Disney Plus?
Disney Plus is one of the few streaming services that offers IMAX Enhanced movies, which allows you to see 26% more of the original image. All you have to do is click on the “Versions” tab, and it’ll give you the option to watch the IMAX Enhanced version.
Not all movies are offering this feature, so be sure to check it out when you can.
How can I watch deleted scenes and bonus content on Disney Plus?
Did you know that Disney has also released all their exclusive DVD content on Disney Plus? All you have to do is click on the title and check out the “Extras” tab on certain titles, and it’ll give you exclusive access to deleted scenes and bonus features that used to only be available via DVD.
If you’re someone who likes watching behind the scenes, deleted scenes, and how shows and movies were made, then Disney Plus offers hours of content for you to binge.
TIP: You can change the language and subtitles on any show that you’re watching by hitting the speech bubble while you’re watching a show. Different shows have different languages and caption options, so test out which ones are best for you.
Is National Geographic content on Disney Plus?
If you’re a fan of National Geographic, you’re going to want a Disney Plus account. Disney Plus has every National Geographic show that you can watch. Plus, they’ve made some exclusive content that you can only find on Disney Plus, like The World According to Jeff Goldblum and Welcome to Earth.
How do Disney Plus parental controls work?
If you want to restrict content for your kiddos, Disney Plus gives you the option to restrict content using the “Kids-Proof Exit,” which is available on all kids’ Disney Plus profiles. The option can be found when you look under their account settings, and you’ll have to enter your password to restrict or open content again.
With this feature, you can also restrict content based on age rating from 6+, 9+, 12+, 14+, 16+, or 18+.
What movies & shows are not on Disney Plus?
Unfortunately, Disney Plus doesn’t have every Disney movie or TV show in their library. Notable exclusions are Song of the South, the new Spider-Man movies, Aladdin (the cartoon series), The House of Mouse, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.
Plus, there is regional content that you can’t get through Disney Plus in the U.S. yet:
- Bunk’d (on Netflix; available in multiple countries outside the U.S.)
- Oz the Great and Powerful (available in multiple countries outside the U.S.)
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (on Hulu; available in multiple countries outside the U.S.)
- Stitch! The Anime (Japan only)
- Fireball – 2008 (Japan only)
- Sofia the First (on Netflix; available in multiple countries outside the U.S.)
How can I use a VPN to watch region-blocked content on Disney Plus?
You can get this content if you use a VPN like ExpressVPN ($9.99/month) or NordVPN ($11.95/month) that tricks Disney Plus into thinking you’re in another country. Here’s how you can use your VPN:
- Download VPN to your desktop or smartphone
- Fill out your information
- Choose the country you want to surf the internet in from a drop-down list
- Toggle VPN to “On”
- Go to any website, and you’ll be able to navigate the web as if you’re in the specified country
What is Disney Plus Premier Access?
In 2020 and 2021, while movie theaters were closed due to Covid-19, Disney Plus released a few titles via Disney Plus Premier Access, which gave Disney Plus subscribers access to brand-new movies for an additional fee.
For movies like Soul, Mulan, and Black Widow, subscribers would pay an extra $29.99 per movie for unlimited viewing. With theaters reopened, there are currently no plans to bring Disney Plus Premier Access back for future Disney and Marvel movies.
You used to be able to get points for the Disney Movie Insiders, Disney’s best-kept secret to getting freebies, but there’s currently no news on if they’re going to give points for a base Disney Plus subscription.
How do I cancel my Disney Plus subscription?
If you want to cancel your Disney Plus account, here’s what you do:
- Head to “Account Settings” on the top right corner of your screen.
- Select “Billing Details.”
- Click “Cancel Subscription.”
- Answer a few questions about why you want to cancel.
You’ll still have access to your Disney Plus account until the end of your billing cycle, but after that, it’ll be deactivated. Unfortunately, if you had the free trial previously, it would activate if you decide to renew your subscription.
Can I watch the Spider-Man movies on Disney Plus?
If you wanted to watch any of the Spider-Man or Venom movies, you’re out of luck. Because they’re Sony-distributed movies, we won’t be seeing them on the platform anytime soon.
You can watch all the Spider-Man movies on Starz, and luckily, we know everything about a Starz Movies subscription.
Is Disney Plus down on my device?
If your Disney Plus isn’t working on your device, make sure to update your browser or app. If you haven’t updated your apps or browser, you won’t be able to access any content on your Disney Plus account.
If you’re still experiencing outages after you’ve updated your app, check the Disney Plus Twitter to see if they’re experiencing shutdown servers.
There doesn’t seem to be any way that you’ll get refunded any of your Disney Plus cost for downtime.
Can I use Disney Plus to prepare for a trip to the Disney Parks?
If you’re a huge Disney Parks fan, Disney Plus gives you all the content you need if you want to learn everything you can about the theme parks, such as the creation of Disney Park attractions in Behind the Attractions and the documentary series, The Imagineering Story, that follows the history of Imagineers.
Unfortunately, there isn’t any information on how to make the most out of your Disney vacation, but we’ve found everything you need to know and more.
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