Disney+ launched yesterday and oh my garland, was it spectacular.
I was initially heartbroken, because so many fellow Disney fans were trying to access it at once that it was having some trouble. Did anyone else get greeted by Ralph and Vanellope saying there was an issue? My first stop was to personalize my profile, which I ultimately couldn’t do until later in the day. But many items were still playing, despite the bugs, and that’s what really matters. Also, let’s please give Disney a break. After all, Disney contains a bunch of human people trying to make the world more magical. So it was a rocky start with some bumps- even Disney can’t be perfect ALL the time.
Once we got it up and running, it was fantastic. We even had a little extra magic, because it snowed here in Tennessee. Nothing like curling up with a peppermint scented Christmas blanket (yep, I’m that extra), seeing a snowscape outside, and drinking hot cocoa while watching Disney+.
A little less magical is my eldest being home school sick, which required some revised Disney+ viewing. I mostly let the kiddos lead with choosing what to watch, so here’s what we ended up watching:
- Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
- Pixar in real life
- Forky Asks a Question: What is Money
- Small Fry (Toy Story Toon)
- Jack-Jack Attack
- Piper (Pixar Short)
- Big Hero 6- the animated series
- TaleSpin
- Steamboat Willie
- Silly Symphonies- The Three Little Pigs
- Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip
- Noelle (me, once they were in bed and I had the remote!)
As you can see, there’s quite a bit of variety on Disney+ — and we didn’t even break in Marvel, Star Wars, or National Geographic!
What was my favorite thing we watched?
Well, I loved introducing my kids to my childhood favorite, TaleSpin. Plus, I don’t think I’d ever seen all of Steamboat Willie! It was such fun to see them discover the same Mickey cartoons I loved as a kid.
But my absolute favorite? Noelle. It balanced humor and message perfectly. You can see the full review here.
What’s on my Watchlist?
Umm, everything, obviously. Kidding. Mostly. But for real, here’s what’s on my Watchlist so far. Though I’m sure to add more, and more, and more. There are so many wonderful things, and they’re sure to add even more.
- Noelle (yeah, it’s still on there. I love it and I will be watching it daily until January 10. Don’t judge me.)
- A Ring of Endless Light
- The Princess Diaries
- Motocrossed
- Mighty Joe Young
- A Bug’s Life
- Jungle 2 Jungle
- Blank Check
- The Ultimate Christmas Present
- Zenon
- Smart House
- Pollyanna
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks
- Mary Poppins
- Descendants 2
- Newsies
- High School Musical 1,2,3
- Lizzie McGuire (series and movie)
- Andi Mack
- Race to Witch Mountain (both)
- Three Days (cheesiest and best Christmas movie of 2003)
- Winnie the Pooh (animated series from the 80s/90s)
- TaleSpin
- Encore
- The Imagineering Story
- Lady and the Tramp (live action)
- High School Musical, the series
- Sparkshorts (Warning: not all appropriate for kiddos)
- Twitches
- That Darn Cat (1997 with Christina Ricci, obviously)
There’s even more I want to watch that I didn’t add to my Watchlist because it’s so easy to find. I really like the organization of this app- you can search, have suggested categories, or even just go by who made it (the big Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic tabs at the top). Since my husband and I haven’t seen any of the Marvel films, we’re planning on watching them in order. It’s just as easy to go to the Marvel tab and find them, or search using the search feature.
One of my favorite features is the Disney through the Decades option in the Search area (just click search in the left hand menu, and it will show up automatically under Explore). It shows shorts and features alike in the order they were released, from Steamboat Willie in 1928 to the new Disney+ originals just released yesterday.
There is just so much to watch! Stay tuned for more specific reviews as I do the hard work of watching all the wonderful things in this list.
Paw Prints in the Sink 