Alright, let’s talk about something I went through recently. For a good while, Disney Plus was a fixture in my house. You know, got it for the kids mostly, but I won’t lie, having all the Star Wars and Marvel stuff ready to go was pretty neat. But things change. You look at your bank statement, you see that charge month after month, and you start asking yourself, “Are we really getting our money’s worth here?” That’s the road I went down.
Why I Started Looking Around
It wasn’t just one thing, really. The price seemed to nudge up every so often. Not by a huge amount each time, but it adds up. And then, content-wise, after burning through the big movies and the main shows we wanted to see, the new stuff felt kinda… thin? Sometimes good, often just okay. What really got me, though, was when they started removing movies and shows. Stuff I figured was the whole point of having their service! It just started feeling like less value for the cash.
My Hunt for Something Else
So, I decided it was time to explore. Couldn’t just cut it off without having some idea of what else we could watch. My process was pretty straightforward, nothing fancy.
- Checking the Usual Suspects: First, I looked at the big streaming players again. Netflix is everywhere, right? Loads of shows, tons of originals, but a different feel than Disney. Lots of variety, but you have to sift through it. Amazon Prime Video was already kinda there because we use Prime shipping. The interface drives me nuts sometimes, feels cluttered, but they do have a decent movie library mixed in. Then there’s Max. Good quality shows, no doubt, especially the HBO stuff, but it’s also on the pricey side. Kinda defeats the purpose if I’m trying to trim the budget.
- Digging a Little Deeper: I thought about what we actually watched most on Disney Plus. A lot of kid-friendly animation and family movies. So, I checked out services like Paramount+. They have Nickelodeon content, which is a plus for younger kids. Peacock came to mind too, with Universal movies and DreamWorks animation.
- Considering Free Options: Couldn’t ignore the free stuff, either. Services like Tubi, Pluto TV, even things like Freevee. Yeah, they have ads, sometimes a lot of ads. But free is free. I also remembered the library! My local library offers access to streaming apps like Kanopy and Hoopla just for having a library card. Worth looking into, I figured.
Trying Things Out
I didn’t just want to read about them, I wanted to see what they were like. Signed up for a few free trials.
Gave Paramount+ a shot for a week. The kids found some cartoons they liked. The app worked okay, nothing special but functional. Checked out Peacock next, started with their free tier. Watched an old movie or two. The ads were noticeable, but manageable for free content.
Then I finally got around to setting up the library app, Hoopla. Needed my library card number. The selection wasn’t massive like Netflix, more curated, maybe? But I found some interesting documentaries and some older kids’ movies I hadn’t seen in ages. And it cost exactly zero dollars.
Where I Landed
So, after all that looking around and trying things out, what did I do? Well, I didn’t find one single service that perfectly replaced Disney Plus. That specific mix of brands is unique to them, obviously.
What I did instead was cancel Disney Plus. Put that money back in my pocket. We kept Netflix because it has a huge amount of something for everyone, even if you have to search. We already had Prime Video bundled with shipping, so we use that more actively now for movies. And I made a mental note to actually use the free library streaming (Hoopla) more often. It’s surprising what you can find there if you look.
Is it the same? No. We don’t get the newest Marvel show the day it drops. But honestly? We’re watching plenty of stuff. My wallet is definitely happier. Sometimes you just need to reassess what you’re paying for and whether you truly need it. For me and my family, cutting Disney Plus turned out to be fine. We don’t really miss it as much as I thought we might.