(Image: DISNEY PLUS • EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS )
Want to watch Disney Plus for free?
Starting from just £7.99, the streamer offers access to thousands of TV shows, award-winning documentaries, and blockbuster films. These include the animated classics you’d expect from Walt Disney and Pixar Studios …as well as a slew of titles you definitely would not expect from the House of Mouse, including hard-hitting dramas like Dopesick, bingeable boxsets like Grey’s Anatomy and The Bear, and blood-soaked movies like The Menu and Fresh to name just a few.
Sadly, Disney Plus dropped its free trial for UK viewers soon after its launch …but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to watch Disney Plus without paying. Luckily there are still a few tricks that let you stream everything on Disney Plus at no cost.
Short on time? We’ve rounded up the latest tricks to continue streaming Disney Plus without spending a penny.
Looking for a little more detail? You’re in the right place.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ve included everything you need to know about the Disney Plus free trial. That includes a comprehensive history of the Disney Plus free trial in the UK, including when the free trial was scrapped for new subscribers, how to avoid the incoming price rise, the introduction of ad-supported subscription tiers, and a few tricks to continue to watch the latest shows and films on Disney Plus for free.
Scroll down for our complete guide, or use the links to jump to the relevant section.
Disney+ is packed with films and shows you’d expect from the House of Mouse …and even more that you wouldn’t expect
Unfortunately, while Disney Plus does continue to offer a 7-day trial period in some parts of the world, the free trial was dropped in the UK. For months after its UK debut, it was possible for anyone in the UK to watch Disney Plus for free.
The 7-day free trial for Disney Plus was available to all new subscribers and was one of the best Disney Plus deals we’ve ever seen.
Available from the moment it launched in the UK back in March 2020, the Disney Plus free trial unlocked access to everything on the streamer. That includes all exclusive TV shows, movies, and documentaries. Users could even download episodes and films to their phones and tablets to watch without an internet connection.
At the end of the 7-day free trial, viewers would be charged for a one-month subscription with their saved credit card details. If you had cancelled during the trial period, you wouldn’t pay anything for the week of free streaming.
Watch every entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including all Avengers films, on Disney Plus (Image: MARVEL STUDIOS • DISNEY PLUS)
Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the Disney Plus free trial is no longer available in the UK.
Disney isn’t alone in scrapping its trial period, which has become a trend across the streaming industry. Netflix offered a one-month free trial to get a foothold in the UK following its launch, but that hasn’t been available for years.
In fact, there are now only a few outliers that continue to offer free trials of their streaming services, including Amazon’s Prime Video (which offers a very generous 30-days to watch for free), Disney-owned Hulu in the United States, Apple TV+, and newly-launched Lionsgate Plus.
What sets Disney Plus apart from its closest competitors is the wealth of immensely popular characters exclusive to the streamer.
While the likes of Prime Video, NOW (formerly NOW TV), and Netflix bulk-out their catalogues with syndicated content, like Friends, Seinfeld, The Office, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, The Wire, Succession, House of the Dragon, created by other broadcasters and licenced for a limited time… Disney owns almost all of its biggest hits, from Marvel to Star Wars, Pixar to Walt Disney animation.
The Little Mermaid was released in cinemas in early 2023, before coming to Disney Plus in September (Image: WALT DISNEY)
As such, anyone who wants to watch any of these stories has to come to Disney Plus.
For example, Disney Plus is the only streaming service with every entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including recent blockbusters like Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness as soon as they leave multiplexes worldwide, as well as exclusive companion shows like She-Hulk, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Ms. Marvel, Loki, and WandaVision to name just a few.
Disney Plus has the exclusive rights to almost all of its biggest hits – as such, you won’t find these characters on any other streamer
And that’s not all, Disney Plus boasts the complete Star Wars saga as well as new shows set within the fictional universe, like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Andor, and The Book Of Boba Fett.
This is alongside the classic Walt Disney animated films like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Lion King most associated with the brand, and the slew of live-action remakes released in cinemas over the last decade, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, Pinnochio, and Dumbo, and all films from Pixar Studios, including the latest releases like Lightyear, Elemental, Soul, Turning Red, and classics like Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Cars, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., and Inside Out.
Academy Award-nominated Turning Red from Pixar is available to stream and download on Disney Plus (Image: WALT DISNEY STUDIOS)
You’ll also find every episode of The Simpsons and Family Guy, the return of The Kardashians with a brand-new reality series, and award-winning documentaries like The Beatles: Get Back, Fire Of Love, Free Solo and The Rescue, and shows from streaming service Hulu such as Only Murders In The Building, Dopesick and blockbusters like Prey and Barbarians included in the catalogue.
Fan favourites like NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS: Hawaii, and The Walking Dead are also included in the streamers’ humongous library.
This wealth of content has helped Disney Plus steal Netflix’s crown as the most popular streamer, with 221.1 million subscribers worldwide compared to 220.67 million subscribers for Netflix worldwide …and a one-month subscription to all of this costs less than buying a single copy of Toy Story, Avengers: Endgame, or Sleeping Beauty on Blu-ray.
Unfortunately, you will need to pay for a subscription as there’s no Disney Plus free trial available. That’s because the try-before-you-buy offer was dropped in the months following its release in the UK.
The Mandalorian, set within the Star Wars universe, is exclusive to Disney Plus (Image: WALT DISNEY STUDIOS )
How much does Disney Plus cost?
Disney Plus costs £7.99 per month in the UK. This is a 30-day rolling contract that lets you cancel at any time.
For the best value, check out an annual Disney Plus subscription for just £79.90 – that’s the same cost as 10 months when you subscribe with a one-month rolling contract. The overall saving is 15%, but we prefer to think of it as 12 months for the price of 10.
Of course, you don’t have quite the flexibility as a rolling monthly plan. But the annual plan also saves you from any unexpected price changes throughout the year.
Disney Plus previously increased its UK subscription cost from £5.99 to £7.99 per month in February 2021, although those with an annual plan didn’t need to pay the new fee until their subscription was renewed after 12 months.
Despite the Disney Plus free trial being ditched by the House of Mouse, there are still ways to watch the streamer without paying.
And if you do want to subscribe, it’s always worth checking out the best Disney Plus deals to save money on your subscription. Below, we’ve rounded up the latest tricks and deals that unlock Disney Plus for free. It’s important to note that while all of these offer access to Disney Plus for free, there might be an additional purchase required to become eligible for the promotion.
Is Disney Plus free trial available in UK?
While the monthly subscription isn’t that expensive, it’s understandable that new customers want to see what the fuss is about before coughing up.
After all, millions of us already have one or more monthly subscriptions under our belts – Amazon Prime, Netflix, Spotify, iCloud storage, Apple TV+, YouTube Premium, Nest Aware, Fitbit Premium, the list goes on and on… so it’s unsurprising that we want to know how much use we’ll get from this latest Direct Debit.
Disney Plus free trial ended in June 2020
For months following its UK launch, Disney Plus offered a 7-day free trial to all new customers. During the Disney Plus free trial, everything was available to stream or download to watch offline. If cancelled during the week-long free trial, customers wouldn’t be charged.
Unfortunately, the free trial was ditched in June 2020.
No Disney Plus free trial currently exists in the UK, United States, Australia, or Canada. A 7-day Disney Plus free trial is still available in Japan, and parts of Latin America.
What about a Disney Plus free trial? The company did offer a 7-day free trial for new UK viewers in the past, but unfortunately, the option has since been dropped.
When Disney Plus first launched in the UK back in March 2020, the House of Mouse offered a 7-day free trial for anyone who wanted to see what the latest streamer was all about.
For a week, viewers could stream every show, documentary, and movie on the platform with no obligation to continue to pay for Disney+ at the end of the 7 days. All features were unlocked, including the ability to download TV show episodes and films to a phone or tablet to watch offline, like when on an underground train, abroad (if you don’t get free roaming with your contract), or on a flight.
The free trial for Disney Plus provided a huge boom in subscriber numbers, with thousands sticking around after the free streaming period had ended. Within five months of the UK and European launch, Disney Plus had doubled the number of paying subscribers globally from 57.5 million to 116 million.
Unfortunately, with so many willing to pay for the service, the free trial is really no longer needed.
Just a few months after it launched in the UK, Disney Plus discontinued its free trial. And sadly, it hasn’t been available in the UK ever since. And with more people subscribing to Disney Plus worldwide than Netflix, it seems unlikely that we’ll see a return of the 7-day trial in established markets like the UK (the free trial is still available in some countries globally).
That said, there are a few tricks to watch Disney Plus for free.
Will the Disney Plus free trial return?
Never say never, as the expression goes. However, there’s no sign that we’re going to see the Disney Plus free trial make a return anytime soon. It’s possible that viewers in other parts of the world might be offered the chance to watch for free to help launch Disney Plus in new markets – just like we saw with the UK and European launch.
However, it seems unlikely that it’ll return in the UK, United States, or Europe where the House of Mouse streamer is already more popular than its biggest rival, Netflix.
Asked about its decision to end the Disney Plus free trial, a spokesperson for Disney Plus told Express.co.uk: “We continue to test and evaluate different marketing, offers and promotions to grow Disney Plus. The service was set at an attractive price-to-value proposition that we believe delivers a compelling entertainment offering on its own.”
The end of the free trial is not unique to Disney Plus.
Instead, the company simply followed in the footsteps of the most popular streaming platform, Netflix. The US streamer offered a one-month free trial to all new subscribers following its debut in the UK. However, this was discontinued back in December 2019. While it was replaced with a way to watch Netfllix shows and films for free …that was discontinued too!
In fact, Apple TV+ and Prime Video remain the only two streaming services that let viewers try before they buy.
Those who want to stream exclusive Prime Video shows like Clarkson’s Farm, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, Daisy Jones And The Six, The Grand Tour, and The Boys can sign-up for a 30-day free Prime membership trial, which also unlocks next-day delivery on thousands of items sold on Amazon UK, a library of free ebooks for Kindle, unlimited back-up for full resolution photos in the cloud, free PC games to download and keep via Prime Gaming, an upgraded Deliveroo account for the next year, and millions of tracks via Amazon Music.
Cancel anytime during the month-long trial and you’ll pay nothing.
But while the official Disney Plus free trial might be a thing of the past, you’ll be very pleased to know there are still a few ways to enjoy some of the best television shows, movies and documentaries on Disney Plus without paying a penny. Scroll down for everything you need to know about watching Disney+ without paying a penny.
There was a Disney Plus free trial for all new subscribers at launch, but it has since been dropped (Image: DISNEY PLUS)
Does Disney Plus have adverts?
If you sign up for Disney Plus today, you won’t find any adverts when watching shows, films, or documentaries.
But that’s about to change.
Disney has confirmed plans to launch its new ad-supported subscription plan in the UK from November 1, 2023.
Advertisement breaks will interrupt on-demand shows and will not be skippable, just like All4 and ITVX. Disney Plus is not the first streamer to introduce adverts after its launch.
Netflix introduced an ad-supported in late 2022, costing just £4.99 per month compared to the £10.99 ad-free plan. That’s a saving of £72 over the course of each year. As well as advertisements when watching your favourite boxsets and movies on Netflix, the cheaper plan is also missing a few titles from the full catalogue available with ad-free tiers.
Netflix also prevents those on the ad-supported tier from downloading content to their devices to watch offline, like on an underground train or longhaul flight.
Amazon recently rebranded IMDB TV as Freevee, which includes a number of exclusive shows, like its big budget adaptation of the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz and Troppo, as well as popular syndicated boxsets like The West Wing, Mike and Molly, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, and Hell’s Kitchen, to name a few.
A number of shows that were previously exclusive to its Prime Video service, which remains advert-less, have been moved to Freevee and are now only available to watch if you’re willing to deal with an ad break …or two.
Disney Plus price rise in 2023 and ad-supported subscriptions
Disney Plus is shaking up its subscription plans from November 1, 2023 in the UK.
From that date, there will be three tiers available to customers:
- Disney Plus Standard with Ads | £4.99
- Disney Plus Standard | £7.99 per month, or £79.90 annually
- Disney Plus Premium | £10.99 per month, or £109.90 annually
Since there is currently only one choice when subscribing to Disney Plus, those with an existing plan will remain in their current subscription, which will be renamed Disney+ Premium.
The only way to keep all of the same features currently available with the single £7.99 subscription – including the ability to stream in 4K Ultra HD with HDR and Dolby Atmos, download content to watch offline, stream on four devices simultenously – is to pay for the Disney Plus Premium plan at £10.99.
An annual subscription costs £109.90, or roughly the cost of 10 months with a rolling monthly plan.
Customers will have the option to switch to Standard Plan or Standard with Ads Plan.
Both the Standard Plan or Standard with Ads Plan on Disney Plus will max-out at a 1080p High Definition (HD) resolution with Stereo Sound or 5.1 Surround Sound not Dolby Atmos. These subscriptions enable up to two devices to watch content with the same login simultaenously.
As the names of these pricing tiers suggest, Standard with Ads will have advertisements during your shows and movies, while the Standard plan will be ad-free. The only other difference is the latter supports downloads for offline viewing.
Disney Plus will offer the same selection of shows, documentaries, and films across all of its new subscription plans. That means you’ll be able to bingewatch must-see shows like The Bear, The Kardashians, Star Wars: Ahsoka, Marvel Secret Invasion, Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, Family Guy, and movies like The Banshees of Inisherin, The Menu, Avatar: The Way Of Water, Encanto, Moana, and hundred more.
If you subscribe to the one-and-only Disney Plus subscription at the moment with an annual plan at £79.90 – you’ll pay £30 less than you’ll need to pay to access all of the same features (4K Ultra HD, Dolby Atmos, Streaming on 4x Devices) when the new pricing plans are introduced in the UK on November 1, 2023.
How to watch Disney Plus for free
While the Disney Plus free trial hasn’t been available in the UK for a few years, there are still a few tricks to unlock free streaming.
Most of these tricks require jumping through a few hoops, like switching from your current SIM provider or signing-up for a Tesco Clubcard, but if you’re willing to put in the time …you can save on your monthly subscriptions!
The latest ways to watch Disney Plus for free include:
While not all of these methods will work for everyone, we’ve got all of the details below.
First up, if you’re looking for free Disney Plus access and also need to upgrade your phone then you should head to the O2 website. The mobile carrier is offering six month free streaming with Disney Plus on a huge number of its popular O2 plans.
The free Disney Plus subscription can be picked up when you sign a new contract for popular handsets, including iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones. This works for new and existing customers who are at the end of their current contract and want to sign up for a new deal with the carrier.
If you shop at Tesco, it’s possible to trade Clubcard vouchers sent out by the supermarket giant for a free subscription to Disney Plus. This clever trick unlocks a three-month subscription to Disney Plus worth £23.97. Even better, there’s currently no limit on the number of times you can redeem the offer.
That means, if you shop enough times at Tesco, you’ll be able to continually top-up your free 3-month subscription using only Clubcard vouchers. This works for new and existing Disney Plus subscribers.
Samsung is giving away 6- or 12-month subscriptions to Disney Plus to customers who have purchased a new Samsung Galaxy smartphone or tablet in recent months. You don’t have to have bought the gadget from the Samsung online store either, no matter where you purchased the Galaxy phone or Galaxy tablet… Samsung will still honour the freebie.
This generous Disney Plus offer is available on the best Galaxy S23 Ultra deals, the best deals on Galaxy A54 5G, Galaxy A34 5G, as well as part of the best Galaxy S23 deals, and Samsung’s popular foldable devices too. For example, you can claim free access to Disney Plus offer with the best Galaxy Z Fold 4 deals and best Galaxy Z Flip 4 deals.
Alternatively, if you’re happy biding your time and waiting you could hold out until Disney Plus Day later this year.
During Disney Plus Day earlier this year, which celebrates the anniversary of the launch of the Netflix rival, the streaming giant slashed the price of one month’s access from £7.99 to just £1.99. That represented a whopping 75% saving – and a small price to pay to access the wealth of unmissable content available with Disney Plus.
The other option, as we already mentioned, is to pay for a one-year subscription to Disney Plus in one go, which equates to 12 months for the price of 10. It’s one of the best Disney Plus deals around – and guarantees you won’t have to worry about price rises for the next year.
If you pay by the month, Disney Plus is priced at £7.99, meaning you’ll pay £95.88 in total for a year’s access.
But if you opt to pay for 12 months all in one go you’ll instead be charged £79.90, which is a £15.98 saving. This deal essentially means you’ll pay £6.66 per month for Disney Plus, which is a real bargain (especially compared to the £10.99 per month for the Standard subscription tier from Netflix!)
Disney Plus boasts a huge back catalogue of films and TV shows as well as original productions (Image: GETTY)
Upcoming Disney Plus releases
Disney Plus faces stiff competition from the likes of Netflix, Apple TV+, and Prime Video. And that’s not counting traditional broadcasters like ITV and BBC, which increasingly prioritise their own streaming services with complete boxsets to binge.
As it stands, Disney Plus is the most popular streaming platform on the planet. However, the House of Mouse isn’t resting on its laurels, with a packed slate of new shows, documentaries and movie releases.
Here’s a small taster of some of the new TV shows and films set to release on Disney Plus in the UK soon…
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 – August 2, 2023
In Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, our beloved band of misfits return – but they’re looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), still reeling from a terrible loss, must rally his team and embark on a dicey, action-packed mission to defend the universe and save Rocket.
Only Murders In The Building – August 8, 2023
Third series of the hit comedy-drama. Charles, Oliver & Mabel (played by Steve Martin, Martin Short & Selena Gomez) are thrown into the investigation of a murder behind-the-scenes of a Broadway show. Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) is a Hollywood action star whose Broadway debut is cut short by his untimely death. Aided by co-star Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep) the podcasters embark on their toughest case yet, while director Oliver attempts to put his show back together.
Ahsoka – August 23, 2023
Set after the fall of the Empire, all-new series Ahsoka follows the former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy. The new drama is set within the same timeline as The Mandalorian and The Book Of Boba Fett, both available to stream in their entirety on Disney Plus right now.
Loki – October 3, 2023
Fan-favourite Loki (Tom Hiddleston) returns for the second season of his own Disney Plus. The show follows the God of Mischief as he embarks on an his own time-bending adventure after his escape in Avengers: Endgame.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians – December 20, 2023
Based on the best-selling book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, the titular Percy Jackson (played by Walker Scobell), who’s just coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when the sky god, Zeus (Lance Reddick), accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. With help from his friends Grover and Annabeth, Percy must embark on an adventure of a lifetime to find it and restore order to Olympus. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jason Mantzoukas, and Megan Mullally also star.
Picture quality
HD and 4K Ultra HD
Broadband speed required
5.0Mbps for HD, 25Mbps for 4K UHD
Parental controls
Yes on all platforms
Minimum commitment
One-month rolling contract, cancel anytime
Smart TVs supported
Android TV, Hisense, LG WebOS, Panasonic, Samsung Tizen
Devices supported
Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV (4th generation and later), Chromecast, NOW, PlayStation, Roku, Sky Q, Sky Glass, Virgin TV 360, Xbox Series X|S, iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Amazon Fire tablets, Windows 10 and 11 tablets, macOS, Windows
Web browsers supported
Google Chrome version 75 and later, Microsoft Edge, Firefox version 68 and later, Safari version 11 and later, Chrome OS 79 and later
