A Month With Disney+: A Review of Disney's New Streaming Service

Disney Life

Disney released Disney+ to the United States one month ago and spoiler alert, I LOVE IT! I am blown away by the original content and the breadth of the existing content library. Read on to hear my review of Disney+ including some of my favorite things I’ve watched, what I think still needs improvement, and whether or not I think you should sign-up.

What I’m Loving

My new favorite thing to do on Fridays after work is to catch up on all of the Disney+ original series. Unlike other streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, Disney+ is releasing new episodes of their original series every Friday. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this at first, as I’m so used to being able to binge the content on my streaming platforms. But I enjoy having something to look forward to at the end of my week. Without the ability to binge the content, I find myself paying much more attention to the shows instead of mindlessly watching television. The Imagineering Story is a great example of one of those shows.

Original Content

The Imagineering Story is my number one must-watch on Disney+. The docu-series chronicles the 65+ year history of Disney Parks. As a hard-core Disney Parks fan I love getting to see never before seen footage and interviews. I’m learning things about Disney that I never knew before. I love that the series take a very open and honest look at Disney’s history. The series clearly points out where Disney had its misses and celebrates its successes. If you’re interested in Disney history, you can watch the first five episodes now.

I have watched all of the Disney+ original movies that Disney has released so far, and I love every one of them. I had little to no expectations of the live action version of Lady and the Tramp, but I actually really enjoyed it and think it may be better than the original. Disney’s newest original movie, One Day at Disney, was released last week. It features stories of multiple Disney employees from Robin Roberts at GMA to Mark Gonzales, who works on the Disneyland Railroad. This movie just confirmed that I must work for the mouse one day. And Noelle, is an adorable new Christmas film that tells the story behind the daughter of Santa Claus. I’m looking forward to whatever movie Disney+ releases next.

Content Library

The concept of the “Disney Vault” is no more. You now have access to hundreds of Disney shows and movies right at your fingertips. There wasn’t a single thing I hoped would be on Disney+ that isn’t there. There are still a few things that are “coming soon”, as they are currently under contract with other streaming platforms, but they will come to Disney+ as soon as that contract ends. There’s old content that I forgot existed and old content I never knew about. I have been enjoying watching all of the holiday films this season on Disney+, as almost all of my favorites are available. With content from National Geographic, Marvel, and Fox this may be some of the highest-quality library of any streaming service.

What Still Needs Work

Now it’s not all sunshine and roses. Disney+ didn’t have the smoothest launch day. Many of its members saw the Wreck it Ralph, unable to connect error when they logged in on launch day, me included. There have also been reports of Disney+ accounts being hacked, however Disney has not been able to trace any sort of hack and this could just be a result of poor password choice on the users end.

The number one issue that I saw the first week of Disney+ was the inability to continue watching a show right where you left off. Users are familiar with streaming platforms like Netflix having a ‘Continue Watching’ section at the top of the screen after you log in. When Disney+ first launched, this feature was no where to be found. Not to mention, whenever you would search the show you were watching, it would bring you all the way back to the beginning of episode 1! Disney has fixed these errors since launch, which means Disney+ is listening to and incorporating user feedback. As a paying subscriber, this is encouraging and makes me think that Disney+ has nowhere to go but up.

Should You Sign-Up?

Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, do I think you should sign-up for Disney’s new streaming platform? The answer, it depends. Personally, I love the platform. I’m not sure I’ve even opened Netflix since the release of Disney+. However, I LOVE DISNEY! I am a Disney fan through and through. I grew up watching Disney Channel and Disney movies and going to the Disney Parks. The content on Disney+ is made for me. I know plenty of people in my life that would probably have no interest in a lot of the content on Disney+, yet.

“Yet” is the keyword here. Based on the original content that I have seen so far, I think Disney has a great vision behind where they are going with their content. I think that as Disney releases additional content, the more the content will appeal to the masses. After all, Disney owns ESPN, National Geographic, Marvel, 21st Century Fox. The Mandalorian is already one of the most in-demand original streaming shows. It even has all of the middle-aged men that I work with signing up for Disney+. But right now, the Mandalorian isn’t enough to get these guys to keep their subscription up every month. I think Disney+ is on its way to becoming a great streaming service that everyone will sign-up for, but it’s not quite there yet.

So if you love Disney or content created from other Disney-owned networks, sign up now. But if your not a ‘Disney person’ (yeah I don’t get those people either), then maybe give it some time. I have no doubt that in time, as more original content released, this will be well worth the $6.99/month. What are your thoughts on the streaming service? Have you signed up yet? Let me know in the comments below.


Older Post Newer Post


Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published