There are many streaming services out there, where you can watch hundreds of your favourite TV shows and movies.
Some of these are only available for viewing in certain countries. Others are now available to watch in New Zealand, such as Disney Plus NZ. However, the service available is a streamlined version of its US counterpart.
We will share with you what the differences are and how you can watch all elements without leaving your living room in NZ.
- What is Disney Plus?
- What is a VPN?
- What Are the Best VPNs to Watch Disney Plus in NZ?
- How to Access Disney Plus?
What Is Disney Plus?
Disney Plus is an ad-free, online streaming service created by The Walt Disney Company and launched in November 2019.
If you’re a fan of Disney, it’s the perfect one-stop service for you. It’s not just limited to Disney Plus movies or TV shows. There’s also lots of content available from Marvel Studios, Pixar, National Geographic, and Star Wars universe.
Disney Plus NZ
Disney Plus is now available in NZ and you can stream your favourite Disney classics, as well as more modern TV shows.
Disney Plus New Zealand is a family-friendly channel with content that all the family can watch together. However, it also has a parental control option included so that you can limit access to content that you may class as inappropriate for your children to watch.
If anything interrupts your Disney Plus content viewing, it’s not a problem. You can easily pause what you are watching or return to it later by selecting “resume” or “continue watching”.
Disney Plus NZ also allows you to watch content offline. This means that you don’t need to rely on finding a suitable, secure Wi-Fi connection if you are travelling. You can download the TV shows or movies of your choice by using the offline viewing feature. You can then watch your favourites wherever you are, whenever you want.
What it’s got?
You can access much of the same content in the NZ version of Disney Plus as you can on the US version. Some highlights are:
Movies
- Frozen 2
- Lady and the Tramp
- Mulan
- The Lion King
TV Shows
- The Mandalorian
- High School Musical
- Inside Pixar
- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
You can now get Disney Star included in your Disney Plus subscription in NZ. This includes TV shows and movies that are targeted to a more adult audience.
Disney Star is not available in the US as they don’t want it to go up against their other streaming service, Hulu.
What it’s missing?
While you can watch most of what is available in the US on your Disney Plus NZ content, they restrict the TV show back-catalogue content. There are episodes missing on some TV shows, which can ruin your viewing when wanting to binge-watch the entire series.
There are also fewer movies available on Disney Plus NZ content than in the US and fewer new releases. This can frustrate you when looking forward to watching your favourite sequel.
What Is a VPN?
A VPN (virtual private network) gives you hidden, secure access to another internet connection. They originally used VPNs for business networks to connect when working in different locations. However, nowadays they are used for so much more.
If you are connecting to the internet in a public place such as a coffee shop or Internet cafe, you are susceptible to hackers prying eyes seeing what you are doing online. This could allow them to get personal details about you or account details if you’re logging onto private websites.
If you install a VPN, this will give you access to servers all around the world. When connecting to these your data history becomes encrypted. Your IP (internet protocol) address is then hidden, along with your identity and the websites that you are accessing.
This is wise to use in a public place, as it gives you the extra security needed. It’s also the solution when you want to access a geo-restricted website in a different country.
A VPN will allow you to access any website across the world by letting you bypass the geographic restrictions.
So if you are looking to stream content or access the US version of Disney Plus, a VPN is the way to go.
- A VPN hides your private information.
- It allows you to access region-blocked services such as Disney Plus.
- You can avoid censorship when travelling abroad.
- You can access international TV and sports coverage from home or home sports and TV when abroad.
- A VPN hides your search history.
You can choose from free VPNs as well as paid VPNs. However, you need to know that there are big limitations with free VPNs and they may not offer the security or bandwidth you require.
Free VPNs are good to use when getting an understanding of how you can use them. Most will give you limited data usage and will have some geographical restrictions.
A paid VPN will give you extra security and peace of mind, as well as unlimited data and servers around the world.
What Are the Best VPNs to Watch Disney Plus in NZ?
Our choice of best VPNs to watch Disney Plus in NZ would be one of the following:
These all offer a great service, are easy to use and have enhanced security and privacy. They make sure that you can watch whatever you would like, without anyone, including your ISP, even knowing.
NordVPN
NordVPN is one of the most popular VPNs available and is a great VPN for a beginner as it’s simple and easy to use. There are over 5400 servers in 59 countries to connect to and 5000 IP addresses available. This allows you to access websites in almost every country across the world, while you are sitting at home in NZ.
NordVPN gives you a speedy connection and can be used on many platforms, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and Linux. You can connect up to six devices at once to the VPN. If you run into difficulty, you can contact NordVPN customer service via a 24/7 live chat.
They offer an App that can make it easier to use the service on iOS and Android devices. This means that you can even use it while on the go.
It is based in Panama and has a policy that it keeps no data logs. They also offer a kill switch security feature, which prevents data from leaking. NordVPN have invested heavily in improving their security infrastructure giving you the service and privacy that you want.
NordVPN is not the cheapest option out there, and it doesn’t offer a free version. If you pay monthly, it would cost you $11.95 per month. If you have a fixed contract, the price will reduce significantly. If paying upfront for a two-year plan, it would work out at just $3.71 per month.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is a speedy VPN that offers a one-click connection and is simple to navigate. It’s reliable and has a strong privacy structure with 3000 servers in 94 countries. It offers over 30,000 IP addresses to allow you to connect securely to websites all over the world.
Subscribers can connect to up to five devices at once and can use ExpressVPN on most platforms. ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands and has a strict policy against keeping data logs that may identify you. They also offer a kill switch feature to prevent leaks if your VPN connection fails.
It has an easy-to-use App available that can be used on iOS and Android devices. This even gives you access when travelling, as long as you have your device to hand.
ExpressVPN is slightly more expensive than NordVPN at $12.95 per month. By signing up for an annual plan, you will pay just $6.67 per month. Meaning that you get three months free. It offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not entirely happy with the service.
Surfshark
Surfshark is the new kid on the block, only launching in 2018. However, in this short time, it has quickly established itself as a great performing VPN against many of its competitors. As with ExpressVPN, its headquarters are in the British Virgin Islands and it has over 3200 servers available in 65 countries.
This VPN has a fresh, intuitive interface that is user friendly and can be used on most platforms with no data limits. It also has an App that is simple to use. The Surfshark customer support is available 24/7 via its online chat service.
Surfshark frequently changes the encryption keys to avoid any compromises of security. They also have a kill switch to prevent data leakage if the VPN connection fails. The VPN offers impressive speeds.
The pricing for Surfshark is very competitive, paying as little as $2.49 per month when signing up for a two-year plan. They also have a six-month plan that costs $6.49 per month. However, if you prefer to pay monthly, the cost would then increase to $12.95 per month.
How to Access Disney Plus?
Disney Plus NZ offers a seven-day trial which gives you the chance to use it before making the leap to a paying subscription. The first thing you need to do before you can watch anything is to create an account. This is easy to do and if you follow the steps below, you won’t go wrong:
- Go to the Disney Plus website www.disneyplus.com.
- Click on ‘Sign Up Now’.
- Enter your email address.
- Choose and enter a password.
- Decide if you would like a monthly or yearly subscription—See subscription options below.
- Enter your payment information-See payment options below.
- Click on ’Start Watching’
- Sit back and enjoy!
Disney Plus Subscriptions
You can choose to pay monthly for your Disney Plus NZ subscription or yearly depending on your requirements. A monthly subscription in NZ would cost $12.99 per month.
This used to be $9.99 but has increased recently because of the addition of Disney Star content. The yearly subscription is $129.99, which gives you two months free.
Payment Methods
There are lots of ways to pay for your Disney Plus NZ subscription. You can pay by VISA, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal. You can also sign up and make payment via the Google Play store and the Apple App store.
Accessing the US Version of Disney Plus
To access the US version of Disney Plus and its vast library of content, you should install a VPN. Decide which VPN you will use and then subscribe to your chosen plan.
You will then need to log into the VPN and select a US server from the server list. Once you have done this, you will need to go to the Disney Plus website and log into your account as usual. This will give you all your favourite TV shows, movies and much more.
What Devices Can I Access Disney Plus On?
Disney Plus NZ is available on most devices and platforms out there. You can watch it on Windows, Apple, Linux, iOS, Android, Sony Playstation, Xbox, Smart TVs and many more.
When you sign up for your Disney Plus NZ account, you can create up to seven different profiles. You can customise these with different names and character icons to make each profile individual to each user. You can watch up to four Disney Plus streams at a time, across multiple devices.
VPN FAQs
Is it illegal to have a VPN?
It’s currently perfectly legal in many countries across the world to use a VPN, NZ included. A VPN will disguise your IP address and hide your identity, preventing others from tracking your website history. There are lots of legitimate reasons you would need to do this.
However, there are also many countries where the use of a VPN is illegal or heavily regulated. These include China, Russia, North Korea and the UAE, among others.
When using a VPN you need to use your common sense. If what you are using it for feels wrong, it probably is. All VPN providers will have it noted in the terms of service that you are responsible for any illegal activity. They will also report any suspected illegal activity to law enforcement.
Are Free VPNs Safe?
We do not recommend a free VPN for security reasons as they cannot be guaranteed to be secure. More often than not a free VPN will track your data as they need to make money from somewhere. By selling on your data they can do this quite easily. Some free VPN providers are also infected with malware which is then passed to you.
Paid VPN providers use the subscription money to provide stronger encryption services, free providers don’t do this. A free VPN could also slow down your internet connection to prompt you to invest in their paid option.
Another reason to not use a free VPN is that they bombard you with pop-up ads. On some occasions, you are also redirected to affiliated websites without permission.
Summary
Since its launch in 2019, Disney Plus has become one of the most popular streaming services in NZ, second only to Netflix. It’s available on most devices and can be used by the entire family at once, in different locations.
The subscription is inexpensive and with the addition of Disney Star, you have a whole host of TV shows and movies to watch. If you want to watch the US version with their immense library of content, no problem. You can do this easily by subscribing to a quality VPN provider like NordVPN, ExpressVPN or Surfshark, and connecting to a US server.
Disney Plus NZ gives you entertainment for all the family, so sit back, relax and enjoy your viewing. Bring the Disney magic into your home!
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing.