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Disney finally explained why Disney+ had so many problems on launch day

Updated Nov 13th, 2019 12:17PM EST
Disney Plus Not Working
Image: AP/Shutterstock

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After months of buildup and more hype than anyone could have imagined, Disney+ finally launched earlier this week on Tuesday. Did it live up to the hype? Well, the answer to that question is a bit complicated. The service itself is everything people hoped it would be and more. For the impossibly low price of just $6.99 each month or $5.83 per month if you pay annually, Disney+ gives subscribers access to an incredible amount of premium content. Highlights include almost every Disney movie and show that has ever been made, all but five films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, National Geographic content, every episode of The Simpsons, every single Pixar movie, exclusives like The Mandalorian and the live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp, and more. And that’s just the content available on launch day! In addition to the 639 different shows and movies users can already available to stream (check out the complete list of titles on Disney+), there are also a bunch of new exclusives coming, such as the Marvel Studios originals What If…?, WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and more.

So Disney+ is shockingly affordable, there are tons of fantastic titles, and you can stream to just about any device you can imagine. Everything sounds great, right? So why is the answer to whether or not Disney+ lives up to the hype so complicated? Well, despite Disney’s preparations for a massive launch, people had a bunch of different problems with the service on launch day.

Everyone knew the Disney+ launch was going to be huge, but not even Disney+ was able to anticipate the incredible demand. In fact, the company just announced on Wednesday that it has already surpassed 10 million sign-ups, which is astounding. As a result, a wide range of issues plagued subscribers on Tuesday as they tried to stream to their TVs, computers, and mobile devices. Difficulties ranged from error messages including “Unable to connect to Disney+” and “There seems to be an issue connecting to the Disney+ service” when trying to stream, to an inability to add titles to watch lists or update account settings.

We all had a pretty good idea of why the errors were occurring, of course, but now we have an explanation that comes straight from the horse’s mouth.

The consumer demand for Disney+ has exceeded our high expectations,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement given to the media. “We are pleased by this incredible response and are working to quickly resolve the current user issue. We appreciate your patience.”

So there you have it, Disney+ fans. If you were worried that there are any major issues or that there’s some big problem with the architecture of the service, this should put your mind at ease. Despite obviously knowing exactly how many subscribers had signed up for the service, Disney apparently just couldn’t fathom how many of them would try to stream simultaneously on launch day. The good news is that it looks like most of the issues have now been cleared up, and hopefully it’ll be smooth sailing from here on out.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.