This streaming service just added a new tier that includes ads (which used to be the pricing of the original Disney+ without ads). We don’t like that we have to cough up $3 more dollars per month for Disney+, but, where else are we going to stream The Sandlot and Moana? Is this streaming service worth the price? And should you cancel your other streaming subscriptions for this one? Well, let’s just say if you’re a fan of Disney princesses, Pixar pictures, Yoda, or Thor, the answer might be “yes.” Let’s find out if Disney+ has all the bare necessities of streaming life. Now, you can opt-in to a plan without ads for $11 per month or cheaper plan without ads for $8. We’d recommend subscribing to the annual plan for $110 to save $22 throughout the year. It might not sound like much, but if you know you’re going to want to watch The Santa Clause at Christmastime, keep up with Chris Hemsworth on Limitless, or don’t want to feel the FOMO when everyone is talking about the new Disney Original, then the annual pass is worth it. We can stash that savings away for our Disneyland park pass. Disney+ is still less expensive than Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Max. Disney+ comes with The Disney Bundle which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for $13.99 a month (with ads). Yup, you can get your Disney+ viewing on plus your sports and A Handmaid’s Tale fix too. The bundle comes with the basic subscription to Hulu, so expect some ads. You also have the option to upgrade to the no-ad version for $19.99 a month. But if you’re a sports fan, this bundle will probably make up for it with all the sportsball. And we mean all of it. ESPN+ comes with MLB, MLS, and NHL games, golf, tennis, boxing, ESPN films, and college sports. (Go Utes!) If you’re all about international sports, tune in for rugby and cricket. Oh, and SportsCenter. Who could forget about that? That means you’ll just need to log into one place to stream Finding Nemo, rewatch Captain Marvel and more titles from the Marvel series, explore even more of a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and save them all with Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue. Oh, and did we mention you get to watch 33 whole seasons of The Simpsons? That makes us wanna dance like Baby Groot. How does all this content compare to what you’ll find on other streaming services? Well, the biggest advantage is that you know what you’re getting. Most of us are probably tuning in to Disney+ to relive all that childhood nostalgia. And Disney+ definitely delivers on that. But if you’re looking for lots of Original content, you might want to check out Netflix or Hulu. Disney+ offers a few Original series you can’t miss, like The Mandalorian, and it continues to dream up new fantastic points of view. Here’s a glimpse of what is available to stream on Disney+ right now. Or you can dive into the our grand list of 600+ titles. And remember, there’s always more to come. Here’s a list streaming devices you can download the Disney+ app to: GroupWatch is fairly limited for now because you can’t actually chat with other people (unless you chat by texting normally from your phone). You can react with emojis, and each person has the ability to pause or fast forward. The only catch here is that each person you invite to GroupWatch has to have their own Disney+ account. So this isn’t a sneaky way to let Uncle Bill watch the back-catalog of Star Wars for free. What it does mean is Disney is serious about the service, will eventually add more and more features, and there is “something in the air” again with a new Indiana Jones movie coming in June 2023. We won’t say Disney+ suddenly became much more appealing, but it is a sign the streaming media app warrants a second look and may even make some of us question our Hulu account or other apps that cost a little more. The $8 per month price isn’t too steep to sign up and at least give the service a try. Then if you like the content, you might consider upgrading to the ad-free plan for $3 more. You may find you just keep tuning in to Disney, which means you can tell your other streaming services “Bye, bye, bye!” (Sorry, had to throw that reach of a reference to The Mickey Mouse Club in there.)
