Disney Plus UK launch is here — what you need to know

Disney Plus UK
(Image credit: Future)

Disney faithful in the UK and EU, your day is here: the Disney Plus UK release is live! Yes, the 133-day long gap between the Disney Plus United States drop and its United Kingdom and Europe release is finally closed.

The arrival comes right when people need more content to stream, as folks in the UK just recently began to shelter in place (or as it's commonly called, lockdown), to try and stop the spread of COVID-19.

In the U.K., just as it was in the U.S., Disney Plus has a 7-day free trial for those looking to dip a toe in and check the water and the depth of the Disney Plus library. 

Disney Plus UK pricing is £5.99 per month or £59.99 per year — with the latter shaving 2 months off for the annual commitment. 

Disney Plus:

<a href="https://disneyplus.bn5x.net/c/221109/564546/9358?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fwelcome" data-link-merchant="disneyplus.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Disney Plus: The Mandalorian is only one of the big shows on Disney Plus that awaits new subscribers. Disney Plus also packs the new season of Star Wars: Clone Wars, and offers a ton of Pixar movies including Frozen 2 and the upcoming Onward.

Looking forward, Disney Plus is getting a lot of big-name movies and shows, in addition to recent live-action remake movies that landed on the service, such as The Lion King and Aladdin. Onward, a recent Pixar film that was in theaters when we all started to socially distance and self isolate, is the next big movie to arrive:

  • Onward: April 3
  • Solo: A Star Wars Story: July 9
  • Avengers: Infinity War: June 25
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: July 29
  • The Incredibles 2: July 30
  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: August
  • Maleficent: October 1
  • The Mandalorian season 2: October
  • WandaVision: December
  • Ralph Breaks the Internet: December 11

One annoying aspect of the Disney Plus launch in Europe is that, according to Variety , Disney is cutting bandwidth by 25% — which means lower video quality. This is per the EU request for limits from streaming-video providers, as the influx of people streaming at home during the coronavirus outbreak is testing the limits of their broadband. 

Even worse, France isn't getting Disney Plus until April 7 — per the request of the French government.

Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.