The reason Disney+ is so expensive is because it used to suck

It might be hard to believe, but Disney+ is nearing its sixth birthday this November. An auspicious start to the service featured Pedro Pascal under a helmet, a few theme park documentaries, and Jeff Goldblum traveling the world in search of curious hobbies. The streaming service has come a long way. However, many of the decisions made in its first year, particularly as it relates to the pandemic, have had a negative ripple effect in the years to come.

You could say the path taken, especially as it relates to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, took audiences to a timeline from which there is no escaping. While there have been some triumphs along the way, it’s the viewers who are suffering from choices that put profits first. Nearly six years in, and early mistakes by Disney+ are still being paid for by audiences.

Disney properties became oversaturated

Popular tiles were watered down

In an effort to puff up its library and keep growing its subscriber base, Disney+ released a lot of new stories in quick succession. While it was fun for audiences for a while, the gambit failed in the long run, with beloved franchises becoming watered down and tiring.

With both Star Wars and the MCU, Disney+ prioritized quantity over quality, pushing titles out quickly without considering potential over-saturation. While the first season of The Mandalorian was terrific and the second offered a solid conclusion, Disney+ pushed forward with another season as well as a much-maligned Boba Fett spinoff, as well as several other animated offerings.

Concerning Marvel, Disney+ dropped five series in 2021 with three more the following year, introducing audiences to dozens of new characters while struggling to decide whether it was producing lengthy, six-hour movies or episodic television. Most of the shows were fine or forgettable. While WandaVision stood out for its clever conceit and depiction of grief, and Hawkeye proved charming if not quite overcrowded, others like Secret Invasion and Echo were quickly forgotten as fans lost interest.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe was rearranged

New order bungled storytelling

One of the main casualties of Disney+’s early strategy was the MCU, and not just because of over-saturation. When the pandemic delayed productions, Disney decided to reschedule release dates and alter release strategies while trying to keep making money. The MCU has never recovered.

That’s because a shuffling of releases took the story out of order, and as a result, some scenes from various titles were cut and others were added. The multiverse story line was set up to make more sense, with the third Spider-Man movie poised to follow the second Dr. Strange, and certain characters, like America Chavez and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, were supposed to get more coherent reveals.

Disney+ prices continue to rise

Streaming services are too expensive

Disney+ failed to turn a profit for many years as it did whatever it could to boost its subscriber numbers so that it would appear immediately successful, and then users would be so locked into its content they wouldn’t mind paying higher prices. Because of this strategy, during its almost six-year history, the service has raised prices four times, and has also introduced an ad-supported tier.

But unfortunately, it looks like viewers weren’t as locked in as Disney thought as a lot of subscribers canceled their membership and logged off for good. It reported lost 700,000 subscribers in early 2025.

Unfortunately the Disney+ experience continues to get worse with integrated shopping, even more ads on lower tiers and cheaper content. The early days of Disney+ were filled with mistakes, and its a shame we’re paying for them now. I would say that I hope they turn their ship around, but I think it may in fact be too late.