How to gift a Disney Plus membership for the holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of year: gift-giving season. And while Disney fans will have to trek to the theater to see Frozen 2, you can give them the gift of basically every other Disney movie in existence with a membership to Disney Plus. The new streaming service is a prime holiday candidate, offering sweet, priceless childhood nostalgia and the chance to be in on the buzz of the week (here’s lookin’ at you, Baby Yoda).

If you want to give your loved one the gift of Disney Plus, however, you may have to play around with timing and email accounts — or alternatively trek out to a Disney store or park near you.

First: what devices does Disney Plus work on?

Before you buy into a year-long membership on behalf of a loved one, you should make sure your gift recipient has a computer — DisneyPlus.com is the easiest way to use an account — or one of these devices.

• Amazon Fire TV and Fire tablets
• Android devices and Android-based Sony Smart TVs
• Apple TV
• Google Chromecast and Chromebooks
• iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
• LG devices
• PlayStation 4
• Roku
• Samsung devices
• Xbox One

How do I gift Disney Plus?

This holiday season, there is no elegant way to surprise someone with a Disney Plus account. When you go to the Disney Plus sign-up page, the website will prompt you to choose the standalone Disney Plus account ($6.99 a month or $69.99 a year) or the Hulu bundle ($12.99 a month).

After selecting, enter the email of the person who you’re making the account for. You’ll create a password for them (which they can change later) and then fill out payment information (which they can also change later), either for the monthly or yearly subscription. After that, the recipient will receive an email about their new Disney Plus account — so if you’re planning on surprising them Christmas morning, maybe don’t do this part two weeks in advance.

Alternatively, you can sign up with your own email and after gifting it, change the email under the account when you present the gift.

But what if they have a Hulu account?

If you sign up with the same email your present buddy uses for Hulu, a prompt will come up that basically says that Disney will automatically adjust your bill to reflect your current subscriptions. Unfortunately, if you do this then you can’t really do the change the email thing.

Disney Plus gift cards might be the easier option

Luckily enough for those who don’t want to finagle with changing passwords and account emails, physical gift cards are available for purchase at Disney parks and Disney stores in the continental United States and Hawaii. If you happen to swing by one between now and the gift-giving occasion, you can pick up a gift card that covers the year subscription for $69.99.

Update (Dec. 11): Good news for those without a nearby Disney park or store — Disney Plus Gift Subscription Cards are now available digitally. Like the physical gift cards, the digital Disney Plus Gift Subscription Cards includes a year of the service for $69.99. It only applies to new customers who have not yet signed up.

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