Best answer: Disney+ is officially launching in the U.S., Canada, and the Netherlands on Nov. 12, 2019 and in Australia and New Zealand on Nov. 19.
International movie magic: Disney+ ($70/yr at Disney)
Where we know Disney+ is launching so far
Disney+ is launching in five countries this year, not just the United States. These are the launch dates for each of the countries where Disney has confirmed a public release:
- Netherlands — Sept. 12, 2019 (beta preview), Nov. 12, 2019 (public release)
- United States — Nov. 12, 2019
- Canada — Nov. 12, 2019
- Australia — Nov. 19, 2019
- New Zealand — Nov. 19, 2019
Dutch subscribers in the Netherlands can get early access because the small European country is where Disney is conducting an open beta test of Disney+ ahead of the public launch in November. During this preview, Disney+ is free for Dutch subscribers, who are finding and (hopefully) reporting all of the bugs they find on the many platforms Disney+ will stream on.
Disney+ has opened pre-orders for U.S. customers, so that they’re signed up and ready to stream the second Nov. 12 rolls around, but Canada, Australia, and New Zealand can’t sign up for pre-orders yet. It’s also worth pointing out for U.S. customers that you can only sign up for a separate Disney+ subscription, not the awesome $13 per month Disney+/ESPN+/Hulu bundle that Disney confirmed this summer.
What about the rest of the world?
Disney announced a tentative schedule for the global rollout of Disney+ back at Investor Day in April 2019. This is a very generic timeline and it’s obviously subject to change — media laws vary widely between countries — but here’s the general time frame you can hopefully expect Disney+ to launch in your country:
- North America in Q1 Fiscal 2020
- Western Europe in the first half of 2020
- Eastern Europe in the first half of 2021
- Latin America in the first half of 2021
- Asia and Pacific country launches throughout 2020 and 2021
The difference in media laws — and pre-existing content exclusivity agreements in many countries — also means that when Disney+ arrives in your country, it may not have all of the same content it does in the launch countries. For instance, French law forbids theatrically-released films from being put on a streaming service in that country for three years, so don’t expect to see Endgame on Disney+ in France until at least 2021.
International movie magic
Disney+
The wait is almost over for five countries.
Disney is finally bringing all of its content under one roof for streaming, after years of it being split on half a dozen services. If you’re in the U.S., you can pre-order Disney+ right now so that you’re all set for November.
$70/yr at Disney+
