That said, Disney+ definitely has its flaws. For some, Disney+ isn’t worth the monthly subscription fee. We’re going to explore all the downsides of Disney+ and explain why you might not want to subscribe.
1. Not Enough New Original Content
In many regions, Disney+ is the exclusive home to high-quality content from the Disney vault: the classic animations, Pixar’s feature-length and short movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and much more. However, if you’re a Disney fan, you’ve probably seen all of this before countless times.
That’s why original streaming content is so important because it keeps the catalog fresh. Unfortunately, since Disney+ is a youngster compared to the likes of Netflix, it hasn’t had enough time to fully flesh out its original content.
While it does have great shows based on existing properties like The Mandalorian and Loki, you’ll likely whiz through everything you want to watch in a month or two, and it’s not enough to sustain a monthly subscription.
2. Content Is Split Across Hulu
Disney owns both Disney+ and Hulu. If you live in the US, that means you need to subscribe to both of those streaming services to enjoy all the content. Hulu starts at $5.99/month and Disney+ is $7.99/month—that’s essentially $14 to maintain a subscription for both, which isn’t cheap.
Luckily, international audiences benefit from the Star brand on Disney+. Star is essentially the international version of Hulu, but it comes included with Disney+. It gives those customers access to original shows like Big Sky and Only Murders in the Building, which US customers need Hulu to watch.
Hulu is a strong brand in the US and Disney has shown no indication that it’s going to merge it with Disney+. That’s disappointing.
3. Episodes Don’t Arrive Simultaneously
When streaming services boomed, one of the great benefits was that you could binge-watch TV shows. Unlike traditional TV, you didn’t have to wait a week for your favorite show to broadcast the latest episode at a specific time. If you wanted, with a streaming service, you could sit down and power through an entire season in one sitting.
In the case of the majority of Disney+’s original shows, episodes arrive weekly rather than all at once. While that does build anticipation and lets you discuss the latest episode with friends, it also means that you have to maintain your subscription for longer if you want to watch something as soon as it drops—often a necessity when spoilers are plastered all over social media.
4. Premier Access Is Expensive
If you’ve paid your $7.99/month subscription fee and thought that gave you immediate access to everything on Disney+, you’d be mistaken. For new releases that also debut in theaters, Disney locks these behind a pay-wall called Premier Access.
Premier Access costs $29.99 and is charged per movie. Some of the movies that have used this scheme in the past are Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Jungle Cruise.
While these movies do become free for every Disney+ subscriber after a number of months, it’s annoying if you’re keen to watch the movie as soon as possible; to be charged an additional fee when you’re already paying a monthly subscription is annoying. Plus, Premier Access is not cheap, especially if you’re a single household.
5. There’s No Free Trial
When Disney+ launched in November 2019, it offered a seven-day free trial to new customers. However, Disney+ no longer offers a free trial, except occasionally through third-parties (like the Xbox Game Pass) or directly targeted promotions.
That means there’s no way to sample Disney+ without at least paying for a month’s subscription. What if you sign up and realize you don’t enjoy anything on offer? Or that it doesn’t have as much content as you thought?
While Disney has obviously decided it doesn’t need to offer a free trial to entice people in, it might put you off subscribing to the service entirely.
6. You Don’t Own the Content
While this is true of every streaming service, it’s still worth mentioning. You don’t own any of the content on Disney+. When you stop paying and reach the end of the billing cycle, you immediately lose access to all the movies and TV shows.
Unlike buying a Blu-ray, which you’re free to watch indefinitely as much as you like, you are essentially renting the Disney+ catalog for a limited time.
Also, Disney can pull its content whenever it chooses. For example, The Simpsons season three episode Stark Raving Dad, which stars Michael Jackson, is nowhere to be found on the streaming service. Users had no control over that. However, if you’d purchased the season on physical media, that episode isn’t going anywhere.
7. Some Missing Features and App Bugs
While competitors such as Netflix have had years to hone the streaming experience, Disney+ still has some way to go; it’s great that it offers download viewing and subtitles, but the service is missing some key features.
For example, if you finish watching a show or movie and back out during the credits, chances are it’ll stick around on your “Continue Watching” row for an eternity. It makes it incredibly fiddly to come back at a later time and play the next episode, since Disney+ still thinks you’re on the previous one.
The app is also poorly optimized on some devices, especially smart TVs. When you first launch the app, it’s common for it to complain that it can’t detect an internet connection and refuses to work until you reload the app. Problems like these should have been ironed out long ago.
Disney+ Might Be Right for You
Have you read through all of these reasons to not subscribe to Disney+ and don’t agree? That’s completely fine! Disney+ satisfies millions of people and for them is completely worth the money. At the end of the day, only you can decide whether Disney+ is right for you.
