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Why Disney+ Could Be The Perfect Streaming Platform For Your Family

Gain access to a library of content going beyond Marvel, Star Wars and the Disney princesses


This article was written in collaboration with Disney. All views expressed in this article are the independent opinion of DollarsAndSense.sg based on our research. DollarsAndSense.sg is not liable for any financial losses that may arise from any transactions and readers are encouraged to do their own due diligence. You can view our full editorial policy here.

I love Disney. So when Disney launched Disney+ in Singapore in February 2021, I was excited and among the first to sign up for it.

As a fervent Star Wars and Marvel fan since I was young, Disney+ pretty much offers me everything I want and more. Not only do I get to (re)watch Star Wars and Marvel movies, but also newer (and absolute must-watch) series from Marvel Studios such as Loki and WandaVision; and The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars. It’s not difficult to see why I, a working adult in my mid-30s, find Disney+ enticing.

That being said, the content on Disney+ goes way beyond just the Marvel and Star Wars franchises. Disney+ is a six-in-one content platform that gives us access to six different content brands, all of which might (arguably) be good enough to warrant their own separate streaming subscriptions.

Disney: This is the Company founded by Walt Disney in 1923 and it includes all the cult classics such as Mickey Mouse, Beauty and the Beast and the well-loved Disney princesses like Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and the newer ones like Elsa and Anna from Frozen. I have three girls at home, so I am naturally familiar with these shows.

Not limited to the classic Disney shows that we grew up watching as kids, there are also other original content such as National Treasure: Edge of History, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Disenchanted, Zootopia+ as well as music documentaries and concert films.

Pixar: Pixar is a well-loved brand with a strong history of having produced some of the best and most iconic animated shows that we have watched in the theatres such as Toy Story, Cars, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. There are also newer shows like Turning Red, Luca, and short films like Dug Days, Bao, Ciao Alberto and Jack-Jack Attack.

Marvel & Star Wars: I am not going to explain what Marvel and Star Wars are. If you love it, you already know why.

National Geographic: Growing up, this has to be one of the few channels we binge-watched that our parents didn’t actually mind. Whether it’s land animals, sea creatures or birds of the sky, National Geographic always has shows that both grandparents and their grandchildren can enjoy watching together.

Star: Among the six content brands, Star was the only content hub that I was least familiar with. Star brings an incredible collection of general entertainment series, movies, documentaries and other content for families, older teens and adults to enjoy. The Star brand serves as home of thousands of hours of movies and series from The Walt Disney Company’s creative studios, including Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television, and more, enhanced by the addition of some exciting Asian-language content.

A brief look at the content under Star includes shows like Modern Family, The Walking Dead and Grey’s Anatomy­­­­.

I didn’t know when I first signed up for Disney+, but Star was initially a Hong Kong-based broadcast, which explains why it offers a wide selection of Korean and Asian shows such as Call it Love, Pandora: Beneath the Paradise, j-hope IN THE BOX, The Zone: Survival Mission and Taiwan Crime Stories.

Content To Be Enjoyed By Everyone In The Family

Growing up, many families paid for cable TV. With cable TV, we get a wide selection of channels, even if we usually only watch a handful of them. For me, it was Cartoon Network as a kid and then the Sports Channels as a teen.

Fewer families these days pay for cable TV. At least, I don’t.

However, this doesn’t mean we don’t pay for content. For me, I still pay for sports, including the UFC Fight Pass and the NBA League Pass. These are actually pretty expensive subscriptions, as they cost me about $30 a month each. They are my little indulgences in life. My wife doesn’t enjoy watching them, and obviously, my kids don’t as well.

For a home streaming platform to be truly valuable in today’s era, it must offer content that the entire family, not just one person, can 1) enjoy individually and 2) enjoy collectively.

Disney+ allows me to get the best of both worlds.

The truth is that with the exclusive content produced by Marvel Studios (Loki, WandaVision, Hawkeye, The Falcon and the Winder Soldier) and Star Wars (The Mandalorian S1, S2, S3, The Book Of Boba Fett, The Bad Batch, Obi-Wan Kenobi), I was already going to sign up for Disney+ anyway.

The fact that I’m getting more content that the rest of the family can enjoy just makes it so much easier to continue as a subscriber.

Through Disney+, my kids can access all the Disney, Pixar and National Geographic content. Personally, I also prefer for them to watch it via Disney+ instead of YouTube because I don’t like how the YouTube algorithm will inevitably prompt them to watch other shows that I’m not comfortable with them watching. I can also watch classics like The Lion King and Toy Story with them.

The good thing for parents like myself is that with Disney+, I can create a Kid’s profile to ensure that only child-friendly content is accessible for their profile. If I am worried that my kids may unintentionally (or intentionally) access content that they are not supposed to watch, I can set the kid-proof exit feature to ensure my kids aren’t navigating to other profiles without completing an exit challenge, or I could set a 4-digit profile pin to restrict my other family members from accessing my profile on Disney+. This PIN will also be required to stream R21 content.

My parents, who live with us, also get to binge-watch some of their favourite shows, like The Walking Dead and other popular Asian shows on Star like Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace.

My wife and I always try to watch the Marvel shows together as part of our couple’s downtime. For certain movies, there is also IMAX Enhanced, along with 4K Ultra HD and Dolby Surround Sound, so you get to enjoy the most immersive home viewing experience as long as your television or projector can support it.

With National Geographic, the entire family can always find shows and documentaries we can all agree to watch together. And I still get to keep my sacred Star Wars time for myself.

Watch On The Go, On Multiple Devices

Being the perfect streaming platform for the entire family these days not only means that everyone can watch their favourite shows at home, but also wherever they are and whenever they want.

The good news is that Disney+ is supported on 10 devices, including the usual phones and tablets that we tend to use outside of our homes, such as our Apple mobile devices, Windows devices and Android TV and mobile devices. You can refer to the full list of supported devices here. Also, if you want to watch shows on the go without incurring high mobile data usage, or intend to watch a show while travelling overseas, you can also have unlimited downloads on 10 devices so that you can watch anywhere and anytime you are.

Each Disney+ account allows you to create up to 7 profiles with 4 simultaneous streams. This means that there is no need to worry my parents may use my profile to watch their shows and mess up my viewing algorithm, or that I might be disconnected from my show because my wife wants to watch her shows.

Finally, with the monthly subscription price of $11.98 per month, or $119.98 (about $10/month) if we opt for the annual subscription, Disney+ is arguably one of the cheapest streaming platforms we can purchase for the entire family, especially given the breadth of content we are getting. In fact, what I pay for Disney+ each month is about one-third of the price I pay to watch specific sports.

You can sign up for Disney+ here and start watching immediately. There is no lock-in period, so if you don’t fancy the content after a month, or don’t have enough time to watch any of the shows, you can cancel anytime.

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