If you’re going to subscribe to Disney+, do it before Friday’s price hike

When Disney+ launched in late 2019, there was only one original scripted show on the streaming service that anyone had any interest in. A year and change later, two seasons of The Mandalorian are complete, WandaVision wrapped its run, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is off to the races. Beyond the original shows, Disney+ has also served as the impromptu virtual theater for movies such as Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon while real theaters are closed down due to the pandemic. Cruella and Black Widow will join Premier Access soon as well.

Disney+ has quickly become a major force in the streaming market, having surpassed 100 million subscribers earlier this month. Unfortunately, as with any streaming service that finds success, the price is only ever going to go up, and Disney+ will be getting the first price hike of its existence on Friday, March 26th.

Disney will be following through on the promise it made last December and will raise the price of Disney+ from $6.99 a month to $7.99 a month starting on Friday. In addition, the Disney Bundle (which includes subscriptions to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+) will jump from $12.99 a month to $13.99 a month, while the Disney Bundle with ad-free Hulu will rise from $18.99 a month to $19.99 a month. Basically, everything is going up a dollar.

The reason we are telling you this is not just to ensure that you won’t be surprised when your next bill comes in, but also to let you know that Disney+ also offers a yearly subscription for $69.99 which will be increased to $79.99 at the end of the week. If you want to watch all of the Marvel and Star Wars shows that Disney has on tap for its streaming service in the coming months, you might as well lock in for a lower price while you still can.

Even after the price increase, Disney+ will still be one of the best deals in streaming. Disney might not quite be able to keep up with the pace of Netflix yet, which seems to launch a new original series or movie twice a day, but with its massive library of Disney classics and an avalanche of originals in the pipeline, Disney+ could be the one streaming service that has a chance of standing toe to toe with Netflix in the coming years.