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A few days ago (this is in January 2025), I got an email from Disney Plus saying that my annual subscription will be increased to S$189.98 starting from February 2025. This is almost an 18.8% increase from the previous subscription rate.
Previous price hikes
The last time there was a price increase was back in January 2024. Back then, my annual subscription was increased to S$159.98. This was an increase of 33.3%!
When I first signed up in February 2021, the annual price was S$119.98.
Two Options
There are currently two subscription plans - Standard and Premium. Here, Disney Plus lists the different things you get with each plan:
Why is there an increase?
In the email, the only background close to an explanation for the price increase was:
“Our Commitment to Subscribers
We are committed to providing a variety of offerings and quality content to our subscribers. We are excited to continue bringing you the stories and exclusive Disney+ Originals you love. Thank you for being the best part of our story.”
Is this sufficient to justify the price hike? Perhaps it’s also due to the rising cost of living and inflation. (Everything seems to be going up except my salary though! 🥲)
The hike does feel steep, especially since it was only recently hiked in early 2024 - just a year ago. And compared to when I first signed up in 2021, the subscription rate has increased by almost 60% - oof!
Is it justified?
Granted, there are a number of Disney Plus originals that you can’t find anywhere else, especially the big Marvel and Star Wars movies and series. Some of my favourites include The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, Skeleton Crew (here's our review), WandaVision, and Moon Knight.
You can also watch many of the Disney classics from the past decades, from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, the Mickey Mouse animations, as well as Pixar shows like Toy Story and The Incredibles, and much more. All these make for a good source of entertainment for the kids, and the kids at heart.
Some of the modern “non-Disney” shows that I enjoyed include American Born Chinese and Interior Chinatown.
There are also plenty of behind the scenes programmes showing what goes into making the Disneyland parks work, the day-to-day life of the cast members (park staff), and the building of the Disney Wish cruise ship. If you’re a Disney fan, all these provide very interesting insights you otherwise wouldn’t be able to see elsewhere. These are the shows that I probably enjoy the most.
Besides the Disney stuff, there are also National Geographic documentaries and STAR - which has the more mature programmes like The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives. Disney Plus also has Korean, Japanese, and other Asian shows, some of which aren’t on the other streaming platforms.
You can check out more details on the Disney Plus website.
With so many shows that bring us comfort and joy, I do find that I won’t be able to live without my Disney Plus subscription.
But given the quantity of new shows - the originals come out once every few months, the overall rising cost of living, and the fact that over time, you’ll probably have watched most of the shows you’ve wanted to watch, it does feel like a stretch to have to pay so much for the service.
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