Disney Plus is among the best streaming services available. The platform brings together content from across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic, it’s the ideal streamer for the whole family. And each month the list of what's new on Disney Plus changes, as new shows and movies arrive.
Since its launch in 2019, the service has gone from strength to strength, with must-view original content like The Mandalorian and Marvel's Loki becoming binge-watching favorites. However, even if you’ve been subscribed since the early days, Disney Plus still has a few secrets, shortcuts, and hidden features up its sleeve.
These features can help you access a wealth of additional content, as well as enjoy special content that takes you behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies. Read on for all the Disney Plus hidden features you need to know about, and how to access them.
Disney Plus hidden features: Access special features
One of the biggest losses in the transition from physical media to streaming has been the decline of special features. If you own a movie on DVD/Blu-ray you’ll typically get access to a range of supplementary content that takes you behind the scenes and explores how the movie you've just watched was created, whereas with streaming platforms you traditionally get the main feature and nothing else.
Disney Plus, however, offers special features for many of its biggest movies/TV shows. To access this bonus content, select what you want to watch and then click the “extras” tab underneath the play button. Here you can find trailers, deleted scenes, gag reels and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Unfortunately, not every piece of content offers bonus features, but if you’ve really enjoyed a movie or TV show it’s worth checking if there are any extras to extend your viewing experience. Usually Disney reserves this feature for it's biggest releases.
Disney Plus hidden features: Disable autoplay
Autoplay can be a very useful feature. Automatically starting the next episode of a TV show once the previous one has concluded is great when you’re binge-watching. But it’s not quite so useful when you just want to watch a single episode or want to switch between multiple shows.
Thankfully, Disney Plus does allow you to disable autoplay if you prefer to manually start the next episode. To do this, click your user icon, then press Edit Profiles, select the profile you wish to edit and then disable autoplay using the slider. Currently, this feature is available on desktop and iOS/Android.
Disney Plus hidden features: Unlock more content
Disney Plus has a whole load of content, but did you know that you might not be getting the full library on your account?
While much of the content offered by the streaming service falls into the family-friendly category there are a few movies and TV shows available designed for grown-ups (especially if you live in Europe and have access to the Stars channel). In order to watch content designed for adults, you need to have your profile set to 18+.
To do this navigate to the Edit Profiles tab by clicking on your account icon, then pressing the Edit Profiles button. Select the profile you wish to set as an adult account, then scroll down to Content rating, this is located underneath the Parental Controls heading. You’ll be prompted to enter your account password, and then can set the age rating of the account. Set it to 18+ to have full access to the entire Disney Plus library.
When setting up new accounts Disney Plus will often default them to a lower age bracket, so it’s certainly worth checking your account has full access just in case. You might be missing out on some excellent content without knowing.
Disney Plus hidden features: Enjoy content collections
One of our favorite things about Disney Plus is its unique content collections. These range from a collection that groups together all the holiday-themed episodes of The Simpsons to one that brings together a range of compelling sports documentaries.
There are also Toy Story, Cars and Frozen collections, which package up all the films, shows and animated shorts within each respective universe. These are just the tip of the iceberg with Disney being particularly fond of creating topical collections for important annual events like Black History Month.
These collections rotate with seasonal picks being added throughout the year. It’s worth having a regular browse of them to see what’s new. Accessing them is also super straightforward. Just navigate over to the search tab and before you enter anything in the search bar scroll down. You’ll instantly see a range of collections that you can start watching instantly.
Now you've unlocked the secrets of Disney Plus, take a look at our guide on Netflix hidden features and hidden Prime Video features you may have missed. And if you're having issues with your Disney Plus account, check out how to get Disney Plus customer service.
