Disney+ has been available in the UK for almost a year. It just so happens that we’re still in position to watch a lot of TV and Disney is in a position to give us a meatier selection of shows to choose from.
It’s already packed with all your favourites that you pretend are your kids’ favourites, but are actually yours, including Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Aladdin and more.
In addition to these animated classics, a boatload of Star Wars and Marvel, Disney is adding thousands of hours of shows and films On February 23 Disney. This new package is called STAR.
Not sure whether Disney Plus is for you? Here’s everything we know about the latest streaming service.
What’s new with STAR and does it cost more?
The most important thing about STAR is the cost increase that comes along with it. Disney+ is currently £5.99 per month (£59.99 if you pay for a year) and that will go up to £7.99 (£79.90 annually) after the launch on February 23.
If you subscribe before then you get the cheaper monthly rate until August 2021, so if you’re planning on getting into some Disney, now’s the time. It’s important to note that this isn’t an optional extra, if you get Disney+ you’re getting STAR, and the cost increase, whether you want it or not.
But what are you getting for the extra £2 per month? STAR is a mixture of films and shows, as well as new original programming that will only be available on Disney+, in the same way as Amazon and Netflix originals are only available on those streaming services.
In the battle for subscriptions these original shows are one of the key reasons people choose one over the other, but there are some old favourites in the STAR catalogue, too, including X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 24.
You can subscribe to the service on the Disney Plus website.
What TV do you need for Disney Plus?
Samsung TVs
If your Samsung was made in or after 2016 you should be able to head to the app store and download Disney Plus.
LG TVs
As with Samsung, any LG TV made in or after 2016 will have the Disney Plus app ready to download from the app store.
Sony TVs
Some Sonys have Google’s Android TV as their operating system and if yours has, then Disney Plus should be available to download.
Panasonic TVs
It looks as though the Disney Plus app isn’t available on Panasonic TVs yet, although we would expect it to be coming soon.
What can you do if your TV doesn’t support Disney Plus?
Fear not, a world of adorable animation, brave superheroes and beige-clad Jedis is still yours for the watching, but you might need to get yourself an extra bit of kit.
Buying a streamer is like putting an old TV through university. It takes care of the smart side of things by giving you access to the apps your TV doesn’t support. They connect to one of the HDMI outputs and connect wirelessly to your router.
The TV streamers that support Disney Plus
We’ve tested a wide range of TV streamers that let you watch Disney Plus. Click on the links below to read our full reviews of each streaming device.
What about Google Chromecasts? Well, they work a little differently to the streaming services above, as we explain below.
Cast Disney Plus
Casting is where you use the app on a phone or tablet but send the picture to your TV – and the good news is Disney Plus supports this feature.
As long as your TV has DLNA (a technology that allows different devices on a network to talk to each other) then you should be able to cast to it and watch Disney Plus, even if your TV or streamer doesn’t have the app installed.
Casting is how Chromecasts work and the Google streamer is basically adding the DLNA features to your TV. So if you have one of these then you’ll be able to cast away*.
Take a look at our reviews of the Google Chromecast 4K Chromecast Ultra and the Google Chromecast with Google TV to find out more about how these gadgets work and what our lab experts thought of them.
* Castaway starring Tom Hanks is not available on Disney Plus, sadly.
