On Tuesday, 19 November 2019, the Disney+ streaming app launched in Australia and New Zealand. If the vibes in the Localsearch office were anything to go by, almost everyone was pumped to go home and put on their favourite Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic movies, shows and shorts.
But, does Disney+ Australia live up to the hype? We sat down with two of our lifestyle bloggers and ultimate 90’s kids, Brit and Sarah to see what they had to say.
An Honest Disney+ Australia Review by Two Aussie 90’s Kids
Price: $8.99/month or $89.99/year.
Brit’s Review of Disney+ Price:
I use up to 5 streaming services including Disney+ at any given time, although I only pay for one of these, have a free 1-year subscription to another, and my partner pays for the remaining services while I mooch off of them.
For $8.99 a month, this is the cheapest service of them all and I like that we don’t have to pay extra to have multiple accounts under one subscription.
Subscribing for a whole year up front will save you money in the long run, but for someone who likes to drop one of these services between waiting for a new season of a show, we opted to pay month-by-month.
The 7 day free trial is a good way to get a feel for if this service is right for you, however most other services usually offer a free month.
Sarah’s Review of Disney+ Price:
I’m currently subscribed to 3 different streaming services (Disney+ makes 4), and it’s by far the cheapest of them all. There definitely aren’t as many shows as other platforms, but for $8.99, you only need to watch a few episodes of a TV show or a movie or two to make it worth it.
The 7-day free trial is handy if you’re not too sure whether it’s really something you’d use too. I know I won’t be cancelling before the end of my trial, but I won’t be paying for the yearly price. It may save me money but I chop and change my streaming subscriptions throughout the year, depending what’s being released.
Shows, Movies & Shorts: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, National Geographic & Star Wars
Brit’s Disney+ Recommendations:
There is no shortage of classic movies, tv shows and content on Disney+, but my problem is that I have seen almost all of the Disney releases before. I adore anything with a song in it (my sisters and I have perfectly choreographed dances to I’ll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan and every bop from High School Musical) and I love anything Pixar, but I don’t see myself watching some of the older movies too often.
Disney has already announced the next line up of movies and TV shows dropping in December 2019, and while I am happy there will be regular content added, I am wary of becoming too invested in some of the original TV shows as streaming services have a habit of cancelling them when they don’t attract new users to the platform.
A majority of the Disney+ originals seem geared towards a younger audience, however I am enjoying some of the shows under National geographic, such as The World According to Jeff Goldblum, 20th Century Fox and The Star Wars franchise.
For those with young kids or who are just straight up Disney obsessed themselves, I could see them being entertained for a long time with the content on Disney+.
Sarah’s Disney+ Recommendations:
I seriously don’t know anyone who wouldn’t find something that wouldn’t make them feel like a kid again on the Disney+ app. All of the original Mickey Mouse, Duck Family and old Disney Princess movies are on there, as well as the newer stuff like Frozen.
For me, I was so excited seeing Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Flubber and Inspector Gadget on the list. I’ll never say no to watching 101 Dalmatians either.
There are a lot of new shows and movies on there as well. I highly recommend The World According to Jeff Goldblum, and apparently The Mandalorian is really good, but Star Wars has never really been my cup of tea—more of a Marvel girl, myself.
The only thing I don’t like is it’s aimed to be family friendly, so apparently they won’t be listing some of the more controversial stuff, like Deadpool. Couldn’t they just create a parent lock for shows over a certain rating?
Devices: Mobile, Tablet, TV & Gaming Consoles
Brit’s Disney+ Device Availability Review:
I watch all my shows on my laptop or through the PlayStation 4. While I don’t often use a mobile or tablet to watch shows, I definitely think it’s a handy feature to be able to download titles, similar to Netflix, and watch them on trains or plane trips.
Sarah’s Disney+ Device Availability Review:
The Disney+ website says the app should be available on Samsung Smart TVs, but it wasn’t on mine last Tuesday. We’ve been watching it through our PlayStation 4, and I’ve been streaming on my iPhone too. I can imagine for families with kids, it’s handy that it’s available on tablets too.
Disney+ Stream Quality
Brit’s Review of the Disney+ Steaming Quality:
For me, the start of each show has taken quite a while to buffer. Apart from this, the quality of streaming is good. Other streaming platforms I have used, like Stan, have a tendency to become jumpy or pixelated at times, which I haven’t experienced on Disney+ so far.
Sarah’s Review of the Disney+ Steaming Quality:
According to what I’ve read online, Disney+ streams in HDR and 4K and has something about a button for Dolby surround sound. To be honest, I don’t really know the difference, but the quality is pretty insane. My partner made me watch The Three Caballeros the first night we had it and besides the script—which definitely wouldn’t get passed these days—you wouldn’t think it was released in the early 1940s.
I’ve heard some people had issues with buffering, but I think it comes down to your internet speeds as we haven’t had any issues.
I’m pretty sure they updated the Disney intro bit to all the shows and movies, but it still gives me that little rush of excitement you get before watching something you know will be good. You can’t tell me you don’t get that too!
User Interface (UI)
Brit’s Review of the Disney+ UI:
As someone who has worked in the world of web development and testing, the UI is incredibly important to me. Disney+ has a nice, simple UI and I find it extremely easy to navigate. My Mother-in-law has had no problems using the platform herself—trust me when i say this is an easy to use interface.
Setting up accounts was easy, with one for me, one for my partner, and one for his parents. I spent at least 20 minutes deciding on my accounts avatar (Ratatouille, for those who care), although I wish there were some more options.
I appreciate the tabs to easily search by type, such as Marvel or Pixar. I do wish that there would be a section for shows and movies recommended to me based on my previous viewing history, similar to Netflix.
I would also love for it to show me a synopsis and other information about the movie when I scroll or hover over it, but that would be more of an enhancement rather than a criticism.
Sarah’s Review of the Disney+ UI:
I’ve only used the app on my iPhone and PlayStation 4, so I can only speak for those, but it’s pretty easy to use. You can create different user accounts, like Netflix, which I always find handy for sharing streaming apps with my partner, since we have polar opposite taste in movies and tv shows.
A nice touch is having the different tabs for viewing all or a specific universe, like Marvel or Disney. Like, if I’m in the mood for some David Attenborough or some Gordon Ramsay, I just flip to the National Geographic tab.
Is Disney+ worth it?
Brit’s overall review of Disney+:
For the price point, Disney+ is worth the money. It’s easy to add it to our monthly budget and you can always rewatch your favourite Disney movies (for me, The Little Mermaid and Mulan always wins).
For me to stay subscribed, I would love to see some more innovation and enhancements to the UI and more original content for all ages.
Sarah’s overall review of Disney+:
To me, yes, Disney+ is completely worth it. I spend more money on energy drinks every week than the eight dollars something for this app. Although, every evening since getting the app, my partner and I have gotten into a debate of watching one of the remakes versus something we’ve seen a million times. Somehow the originals always seem to win, but I’m dying to watch Lady and the Tramp.
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
What does every good Disney+ binge need? Food delivery!
Whether you have a hankering for Chinese food, burgers, fish ‘n’ chips or something you’ve never tried, you’ll find all your local restaurants and takeaway joints on Localsearch!
