Hey everyone, it’s Whatever Wednesdays again and today is just going to be a short post about my experience with “Disney Plus“.
Disney Plus?
Yea.
Most likely you’ve heard of Disney’s new streaming platform which is supposed to go head-to-head with Netflix. You didn’t think it was pulling all of its content from Netflix back in 2017 for no reason right?
In the age of everyone trying to “cut the cord” of cable and get away from bundling, we’re now seeing the next adaption of making money. Creators are now trying to make all their content “exclusive”.
To be honest, this doesn’t change all that much stuff for me. My family in general doesn’t watch very much TV. However, we do still keep cable around so the kids can watch Nickelodeon or Disney Junior. Of course, I like to watch My Dodgers play on Sportsnet LA as well.
However, since my wife and I are Verizon customers and we get free access to Disney+ for a year, we might as well try it right?
So, what’s the verdict?
Well, first let me say that getting access through Verizon was pretty easy. Just accept the offer, transfer over to Disney Plus, make the account linked and boom, you’re in.
However, after that I ran into a snag. Disney Plus ran just fine on my computer using the web browser. Unfortunately, because our TV is old and our iPads are old, we couldn’t get Disney Plus on either of them.
First things first. Apparently our iPads are too old to get the newest version of iOS which is required for the Disney Plus app. My wife’s iPad is a 4th gen and mine is a 3rd gen — read: OLD. We never really felt the need to upgrade them since we don’t use them that much. In general, the kids have mostly been using them for educational apps and the Epic! reading app. As such, I don’t feel any real reason to upgrade and would hate to buy a new iPad just to use Disney Plus. So now let’s focus on the TV.
The reason our TV is so old is because my newer TV actually bit the dust before this older TV. This is probably because the “older TV” was in storage mostly since my in-laws brought it when they moved in with us. The TV itself is still in good condition. However, it’s a very early version of a “smart TV” and its software isn’t upgradeable. So that means I can’t get Disney Plus on the TV without a little help — or just buying a new TV.
The Solution
After some deliberation I decided to invest in a:
This seemed like the best (and easiest) way to get Disney Plus on this TV without spending too much money. It’s ~$50 or so. The way I rationalized this purchase is that we will eventually buy a new TV for the living room. Then we can use this Roku Streaming Stick + on this old TV or my other significantly older TV (~2012) downstairs to have access to Disney Plus in two rooms if needed.
Setup is pretty easy. Just plug it into your TV’s USB port and an HDMI port. That said, before purchasing, make sure your ports are within a reasonable distance from each other and can reach.
Then you just set up a Roku account, link to your TV, and you’re ready to go. Roku does an exceptional job keeping their software up to date. They were one of the first to offer Disney Plus.
So no new TV then?
Not yet.
For those who are interested, I have my eye on this TV:
TCL 55″ Class 6-Series 4K UHD QLED Dolby Vision HDR Roku Smart TV – 55R625
It’s pretty cheap ($599) and gets pretty good reviews. Just google “TCL 55R625”. The only complain I’ve seen is some motion artifacts. Also, it comes with Roku built in which I think is the best “smart TV” software. Now then, this isn’t the super ultra high end TV that some people really want. However, for me, this lands in a nice “bang for your buck” spot and is within my Value Cost Ratio.
Unfortunately, it’s too big for Amazon to ship to me. While I could buy it at Best Buy, I’m just going to wait until Costco carries it (hopefully) and then buy it from there. Costco currently carries last year’s 2018 model, so I’m hopeful that they’ll carry the 2019 version sooner or later. For those who don’t know, Costco gives you an extra 1 year warranty on top of manufacturer’s warranty, plus 2 more additional years if purchased with their Costco Visa. That’s pretty hard to pass up, especially for TVs.
Another thing to be aware of is that Amazon Kindle Fire HD will also have their own Disney Plus app since Disney and Amazon made a peace treaty. My plan to buy the kids Kindle Fire 8 HD Kids Editions for Christmas is all but guaranteed now. Now I just need to wait until Black Friday for the deal to go live ($79.99).
So, how’s Disney Plus?
Honestly? It’s pretty great.
It has a ton of content. Think about it: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic… there is a ton to watch here.
The “exclusive” content like The Mandalorian is supposedly pretty good too. However, out of all of the content, my son and daughter likes this the most:
Honestly, if you’re a Xennial, like me, then this was you why you woke up every Saturday morning like clockwork. I think everyone really loved this series when it aired, but for some reason it was lost for a long time. Prior to X-Men, I think that most of the American animated series were disjointed and never really had an overarching storyline. I think X-Men: The Animated Series was the first to do so. It was the first time I actually noticed characters change and grow in an animated series.
When I saw this was available on Disney Plus I was really excited to show my kids what I watched as a kid. As expected, they loved it. They were asking who each super hero was. Lucas loves Wolverine and Kylie loves Rogue. They ask to watch it everyday, but of course, it has to be in moderation. They know they have to “earn” Disney Plus time.
Unfortunately, it looks like Disney Plus kind of messed up the order of the episodes. Hopefully they fix this.
On a side note, they messed up The Simpsons aspect ratio as well. But there are plans to fix it.
Will you continue it after your free year?
I’m not sure.
It will depend on how much the kids like it and how much content Disney continues to put out. For right now it’s $6.99/month or $69.99/year. That’s actually a pretty good deal considering the content, all things considered.
However, I think this is just the introductory price. I think we’ll see a price increase around this time next year. I think $9.99/month and $99.99/year may be the new price.
Additionally, I think this is the beginning of the “exclusivity” wars where creators will continue to silo off their content. Now it seems that Netflix and Nickelodeon have just partnered to take on Disney Plus.
Only time will tell.
TL;DR
Disney Plus is pretty great.
I’m using a Roku Streaming Stick + for now, but plan to buy a new best bang for your buck TV eventually (likely the TCL 55R625) from Costco.
We’ll see if they keep their prices at $6.99/month and $69.99/year.
-Sensei
Agree? Disagree? Questions, Comments and Suggestions are welcome.
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