Is this the year you are ditching all the ridiculous fees that your cable company charges? Are you tired of subscribing to channels you don’t watch and paying ridiculous DVR service fees.

If you are looking into alternative streaming options, we’ve compiled a list of all the streaming services that can potentially replace the expensive cable boxes you are renting from companies like Comcast, Time Warner, and more. Here’s the list, from cheapest to most expensive.

NBC Peacock Premium: $5-a-month, Exclusive Shows

The NBC Peacock streaming service doesn’t launch until April 2020, but it will have a ton of NBC shows to stream as well as some original shows. Unfortunately, the company’s streaming pricing structure is a bit confusing. Here are the 3 options:

1. Free: You don’t have to pay a dime, but you do have to watch ads. You have access to 7,500 hours of content as well as live streaming news and sports. You are not allowed access to original content though.
2. $5-a-month: You still have to watch ads, but you have access to 15,000 hours of content as well as all the new, original content. (This level will be provided for free to Cox and Comcast cable customers, for the non cord-cutters.)
3. $10-a-month: This includes everything in the service and strips out all the annoying ads. If you are receiving the premium level for free, you have to pay $5 a month more.

Some of the TV series included with the subscription are The Office, Parks & Recreation, Saturday Night Live, Cheers, Will & Grace, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, House, Downton Abbey, King of Queens, Frasier, & all of the Law & Order shows. The original content is listed below.

Popular NBC Peacock Announced Content:

• Saved by the Bell Reboot (featuring Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley & Mark-Paul Gosselaar)
• Punky Booster Reboot
• Battlestar Galactica Reboot
• A.P. Bio Season 3 (moved over from NBC)

There’s also several new series in the works including Girls5Eva (Tina Fey production), Rutherford Falls (Ed Helms comedy), Straight Talk (Rashida Jones comedy), Hitmen (racing show with Dale Earnhardt Jr.), & Intelligence (David Schwimmer comedy).

Worth Subscribing?

Wait & See. Netflix will continue streaming The Office until the end of the year, then it moves exclusively to Peacock. So you have an alternative option this year if you are an Office fanatic. As for the original content, I’d wait for the reviews. It’s a decent mixture of new shows and reboots, heavy on comedy.

Apple TV+: $5-a-month, Exclusive Movies / Shows

Apple TV+ has been out for a few months, offering a variety of original shows for a $5-per-month cost (or $50 for a year of service). It doesn’t force viewers to watch commercials and subscribers can save shows to watch offline. In addition, subscribers can stream shows to up six devices.

The downside is the content library is extremely thin at this point. Arguably, this type of service is probably worth a monthly subscription once or twice a year to binge the new content instead of every month.

Popular Apple TV+ Original Content:

• The Morning Show: A news series drama that features Jennifer Aniston, Reese Weatherspoon and Steve Carell.
• Dickinson: A comedy exploring poet Emily Dickinson’s life.
• SEE: A thriller that features a sci-fi future in which all humans have lost their sight.
• Snoopy in Space: A classic animated character brought to life in a new animated TV show.
• For All Mankind: A drama in an alternate reality in which the space race never ended.
• Oprah’s Book Club: Each episode features a book handpicked by Oprah.

Some of the other shows in the works include a M. Night Shyamalan thriller called Servant, an Anthony Mackie / Samuel L. Jackson movie called The Banker, and a comedy from Always Sunny’s Rob McElhenney about a video game development studio.

Worth Subscribing?

Arguably, this type of service is probably worth a monthly subscription once or twice a year rather than subscribing every month. The limited volume of shows makes it easy to binge a show or two for a month, then unsubscribe.

Frndly.TV: $6-a-month, 13 channels

This service provides access to a very specific set of channels, likely ideal for anyone that watches lots of Hallmark shows and movies. It’s a relatively niche list, but works well in conjunction with services like YouTube TV.

The entire channel list includes the Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Hallmark Drama, the Game Show Network, Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, UPtv, QVC, The Weather Channel, Light TV, PixL and BabyFirst TV.

Frndly.TV has three plan options:

• $6-a-month for SD quality & 1 stream at a time
• $8-a-month for HD quality & 2 streams at a time. Also includes unlimited DVR (30-day time limit).
• $10-a-month for HD quality & 4 streams at a time. Also includes unlimited DVR (90-day time limit).

Worth Subscribing?

This type of service works well as a complimentary subscription to something that doesn’t offer the same channels, like Hulu Live TV or YouTube TV. The DVR terms are fairly reasonable and the volume of simultaneous streams is high compared to other services.

CBS All-Access: $6-a-month, Exclusive Shows

Basically a direct competitor to NBC’s Peacock, CBS All-Access is another 1 channel subscription with a decent content library of older shows as well as some original content. Unlike Peacock, there’s not a free option. The base plan costs $6-a-month, but requires you to watch commercials during the shows. The $10-a-month plan removes all the commercials and adds the ability to download video for offline playback.

In addition to the latest programming, CBS All-Access provides access to live news programming as well as live sports, ideal for anyone that wants to watch the NCAA Tournament as it happens. It also provides behind-the-scenes video like the Big Brother feed as well as award shows pre-event content. CBS is also heavily investing in new Star Trek programming, for Trek fans.

Popular CBS All-Access Original Content:

• Star Trek Discovery: A Star Trek show set roughly a decade before Captain Kirk’s five-year mission, following the crew of the USS Discovery. Two seasons are available with the third season coming during the 1st half of 2020.
• Picard: At the end of the 24th century, 18 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), this Star Trek picks up the story of Jean-Luc Picard as well as supporting characters from the Next Generation series.
• The Good Fight: Picking up a year after the finale of The Good Wife, this series follows the legal career of Diane Lockhart & associates. There are three seasons available to stream with a fourth likely coming during March 2020.
• Why Women Kill: This series featured Lucy Lui and follows the story of various women that live in a specific mansion in Pasadena.
• The Twilight Zone: This reboot is produced & narrated by Jordan Peele, featuring various celebrity guest stars drawn into Black Mirror-esqe situations. The first season aired in 2019 and has been renewed for a second season in 2020.

Interestingly, CBS is investing heavier on original dramas while NBC is investing more into original comedies. There is a free, 7-day trial of the service if you want to try it out.

Worth Subscribing?

For Star Trek fans, most definitely. After Picard finishes the 10-episode run, it’s likely that CBS will roll out the next season of Discovery. That’s more than 50 total episodes of Star Trek goodness & that doesn’t even include the Trek shorts.

That being said, you can get away with subscribing sporadically based on your needs. This is probably a good service to subscribe to every three to six months based on the original shows you are interested in.

Hulu Basic: $6-a-month, Exclusive Movies / Shows

Offering two price tiers, the base level of Hulu costs $6-a-month, offers two simultaneous streams at one time, but you have to watch commercials during the shows. There is an ad free option, but you have to pay $12-a-month to remove all the commercials.

If you are ditching cable, I consider Hulu to be a staple of your post-cable life. While it’s not as robust as Netflix in regards to content, it does provide access to a massive volume of shows from the major networks as well as many of the premium networks.

While you don’t have live access when shows air, you can usually watch the show the following day. Hulu has a solid library of original content; shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, Marvel’s Runaways, Castle Rock, Future Man and more.

There’s also an interesting bundling option available to those interested in Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+. For $13-a-month, you save roughly 25% off subscribing to the three services separately.

Worth Subscribing?

Without a doubt. While the volume of original content isn’t as expansive as Netflix, the licensing agreements with most networks will give you access to the latest programming. That being said, keep any eye on disappearing tv shows over time. As more companies move their content to their own streaming services, Hulu could suffer and it may not be a great deal anymore.

Disney+: $7-a-month, Exclusive Movies / Shows

Launching a few months ago, Disney+ is a service that bundles a huge volume of popular content; basically everything Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and more. There’s only one subscription tier, $7-per-month. You can also opt in for a yearly fee at $70 (which drops the monthly cost to $5.83).

If ditching cable, Disney+ offers a large library of classic & modern movies as well as a small, but growing volume of original shows and movies. One of the most popular has been The Mandalorian, which spawned a million Baby Yoda memes that clogged up the Internet Tubes over late 2019.

Popular Disney+ Original Content:

• Star Wars: The Mandalorian: This 8-episode series (which has a 2nd season coming during late 2020) is a Star Wars, western-style story set 5 years after the fall of the Empire and 25 years before the rise of the First Order.
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7: The final season of the Clone Wars heads to Disney+ during Feb 2020. It’s the seventh season of the show, the first six which can be streamed on Disney+.
• The World According to Jeff Goldblum: This Nat Geo show features the eclectic Jeff Goldblum discussing different topics in a documentary style each week.
• High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: This is a mockumentary / muscial series based on the popular movies.

There’s a ton of Marvel content in the works with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series coming out first during late 2020 along with WandaVision. There’s also series based on characters such as Loki, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, & She-Hulk on the way; most of which will arrive during 2021.

Worth Subscribing?

For parents, absolutely. The sheer volume of content for kids of all ages on Disney+ is astounding; as we pointed out in our review. On top of that, it has plenty of shows and movies that adults will enjoy as well. Of course, if you are solely interested in Star Wars or Marvel, I’d recommend subscribing sporadically a few times a year. You will be able to binge the latest shows, then save some money until the next show is released.

Netflix: $9-a-month, Exclusive Movies / Shows

Not surprisingly, Netflix is a staple in a post-cable life. While the volume of licensed content has waned over the years, the volume of original content has exploded. That includes everything from movies to television shows to documentaries to comedy shows. Netflix is continuing to invest heavily in original content during 2020 as well.

Do be aware there are multiple pricing tiers. The base subscription is $9-per-month and provides 1 stream in standard definition. The standard plan is $13-per-month and provides 2 simultaneous streams in 1080p high definition. The premium plan costs $16-per-month and provides 4 simultaneous streams in 4K resolution.

Popular Netflix Original Content:

• Marvel Shows: Before Disney+ existed, Netflix invested heavily in shows like Daredevil, The Punisher, Luke Cage, & Jessica Jones. All of these Marvel shows will stay put, but Netflix will not be investing in new Marvel content anymore.
• Stranger Things: This hit sci-fi show has three seasons available for streaming and a fourth on the way; a suspenseful drama exploring supernatural events occurring in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.
• Orange is the New Black: Set in a minimum-security federal prison, this dark comedy follows the trials and tribulations of the women serving time in the prison.

Some of the more popular shows released during 2019 include The Witcher, The Umbrella Academy, You: Season 2, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, & Dead to Me.

Worth Subscribing?

Absolutely. The sheer volume of stuff to watch is ridiculous. In addition, Netflix has become one of the most reliable services in regards to consistently rolling out original shows / movies each month. You can’t go wrong with a yearly subscription to the service, especially if you have cut the cord.

Amazon Video: $9-a-month, Exclusive Movies / Shows

Similar to Netflix, I consider Amazon Video a staple in a post-cable life. It’s arguably one of the best bargains as well, specifically if you shop on Amazon throughout the year. While Amazon technically offers a standalone subscription at $9-per-month, you are much better off going with Amazon Prime at $119 a year, effectively $1 more a month. That gives you access to Prime Video along with a vast array of Prime Perks like free two-day shipping.

Popular Amazon Video Original Content:

• The Expanse Season 4: Picking up where the SYFY network left off, this sprawling science fiction drama
• The Boys: This series flips the script on the superhero trend, pitting a group of normal humans against superheros that have run wild under the protection of a corporation.
• Fleabag: This award winning comedy-drama series follows the adventures of a young woman in London with frequent fourth-wall breaking moments.
• The Man in the High Castle: The final season of this alternate history show aired this year, set in a parallel universe where the Axis powers won World War II.
• Jack Ryan: Something of a reboot of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series of books, Amazon has two seasons of the popular drama available with a third season on the way for an unnamed date.

Worth Subscribing?

Of course. Beyond all the perks you get with Prime, Amazon has really stepped up their original content production budget in the past two years. They have branched out into films as well as original documentaries.

HBO Max: $15-a-month, Exclusive Shows

Launching during May 2020, HBO Max is going to combine content from HBO, Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT and more at an expensive $15-a-month subscription. It offers all the content you will find on HBO Now with original content that’s going to be exclusive to the service.

It’s also going to be the only place to stream a few big franchise shows, Doctor Who, Friends and The Big Bang Theory. In addition, programming that was streaming on the DC Universe service will be headed to HBO Max, shows like Doom Patrol, the Deathstroke spinoff and Stargirl.

Popular HBO Max Announced Content:

• The Green Lantern: After the middling failure of the Green Lantern movie, DC is taking another shot with a series on the small screen.
• Superintelligence: A comedy starring Melissa McCarthy that details how a woman becomes an artificial intelligence’s human test subject.
• Raised by Wolves: Created by Ridley Scott, this series follows two androids that are raising children on a strange planet.
• XOXO Gossip Girl: This Gossip Girl sequel follows a new set of Upper East Siders and the private school life that goes with it.

Worth Subscribing?

Maybe. This service is definitely on the expensive side and it’s currently unproven. I’d recommend waiting for a few months to see what the original programming release schedule looks like.

Philo: $20-a-month, 59 channels

Philo is an interesting service, specifically due to the low cost for the channel package. At just $20-a-month, you get access to channels such as AMC, Comedy Central, HGTV, Hallmark, ID, MTV, TLC and more.

Of course, there’s a trade off. You will need an antenna for your local channels and your DVR recordings will only last 30 days before deletion. You can stream live or on demand TV on up to three devices at the same time.

Worth Subscribing?

Possibly. It really depends on what channels you are looking for. This specific subset of channels doesn’t include popular stations like USA or TBS, but it could make for a solid complimentary service if you want to expand beyond a Netflix or Hulu subscription.

Sling TV Blue & Orange: $45-a-month, 53 channels

The nice thing about Sling TV is flexibility, in regards to channel options. You can choose to subscribe to either the Blue or Orange channel packages at $30-a-month or both for $45. There’s also a number of $5-a-month add-on packages:

Available Add-On packages:

• Comedy Extra: MTV, truTV, Paramount Network, MTV2, CMT, Logo, Revolt, GSN, TV Land
• Kids Extra: Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nick Jr, Nick Toons, Teen Nick
• Lifestyle Extra: VH1, BET, DIY, all 3 Hallmark channels, WE, LMN, FYI.
• News Extra: BBC, HLN, EuroNews, SCI
• Sports Extra: NBA TV, SEC Network, SEC Network+, Pac-12, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, NHL Network, beIN SPORTS, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Bases Loaded
• Hollywood Extra: Reelz, Sundance, TCM
• Heartland Extra: Outdoor, Sportsman, PixL, Ride TV, Cowboy Channel

There’s also an A La Carte option that lets you choose from 30+ channels at at little as $3 each, depending on the station.

Regarding DVR service, you can record up to 10 hours of video for free or you can upgrade to 50 hours of video for an additional $5 a month.

Worth Subscribing?

Yes, if you already have an antenna for local stations and don’t mind the small amount of DVR space for recording shows. Sling TV does offer flexible options, both with the core packages and the add-on options. Just be wary of all the add-on fees if you like tons of channels.

YouTube TV: $50-a-month, 70+ channels

One of the nice things about YouTube TV is the simplicity. While there are minor options for add-on channels, there’s basically just a single price for the service, $50-a-month. You also get access to YouTube Original videos, which would typically require a $12-a-month YouTube Premium subscription.

Some of the best features of YouTube TV include:

• Unlimited space for recordings, no limit for simultaneous recordings, 9-month length for all recordings before deletion.
• Account sharing with your family up to 6 accounts, 3 simultaneous streams active at a time.
• One of the most expansive local channel packages, for those that want to avoid an antenna.

Worth Subscribing?

Definitely. This is one of the least expensive options for a robust package with the most popular channels. It has a broad range of options for mainstream entertainment, content for kids, sports packages, news and more.

Hulu+ Live TV: $55-a-month, 60+ channels

If you already subscribe to regular Hulu, you can upgrade from $6-a-month to a $55-a-month plan with access to more than 60 channels (including local channels). You can also upgrade to a $61-a-month plan to remove all the commercials from Hulu’s programming (outside of Live TV).

Both plans let you stream up to two screens at a time and store up to 50 hours of video on the Cloud DVR service. There are also a couple of channel package add-on options, one for Spanish channels and one for entertainment channels like DIY, FYI, Lifetime Movies and more.

Hulu+ Live TV has two additional add-on options:

1. Unlimited Screens for $10-a-month: Lets you stream from an unlimited number of devices in your home and up to 3 mobile devices while outside of your home.
2. Enhanced Cloud DVR for $10-a-month: Upgrades your plan to 200 hours of recording time and adds a feature that lets you fast forward through ad breaks.

Worth Subscribing?

This is a solid option for lowering your cable bill and getting a brand range of channels. The core package includes a broad range of local channels, kids channels, movies channels, news stations, sports channels and entertainment channels.

FuboTV: $55-a-month, 102 channels

If you are a sports fan, FuboTV is going to be your best option with PlayStation Vue out of the picture. It also offers access to a few local stations, which may be ideal compared to hooking up an antenna to every TV in your home.

Some of the more popular stations include AMC, CNN, HGTV, USA, TNT, & TBS. You can find a full listing of all channels here. In addition, the Sports Plus with NFL Redzone add-on is great for sports fans which provides great NFL access as well as tons  of NCAA games.

FuboTV has three main plan options:

• $55-a-month for 102 channels, 2 streams at once and 30 hours of DVR space (unlimited watch time, 4K & HD streams)
• $60-a-month for 102 channels, 3 streams at once and 500 hours of DVR space (unlimited watch time, 4K & HD streams)
• $80-a-month for 168 channels, 3 streams at once, 500 hours of DVR space (unlimited watch time, 4K & HD streams) & Showtime

Worth Subscribing?

If you are looking for a hefty cable replacement with a ton of channels, FuboTV is a really solid bet. The downside is that you could be paying nearly just as much as a traditional cable package. Be wary of the number of add-ons you sign up for.

Cutting the cord in 2021? Here’s the cheapest cable replacement options

The Disney+ streaming service just launched today, a $7-per-month streaming subscription service available on the Web, mobile devices, game consoles, streaming media players and smart televisions.

It’s taking on streaming giants like Netflix, Hulu and Prime Video; certainly no easy task. The subscription gets you streaming access to Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Nat Geo movies and shows, Ultra HD streaming video quality and up to four streams at once.

Is Disney+ easy to use?

Yes Disney has utilized all the elements that make services like Netflix or Prime Video simple to use and packaged up content in the familiar horizontal scroll format. In addition to the curated collections of content like Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars listed on the opening screen, you will find categorized content all the way down the list as well as a recently watched section for picking up where you left off.

I was surprised to find curated collections of content listed in the search menu. If you don’t know what to search for, you can look through content categorized by themes or characters.

For instance, you can bring up everything that has an appearance of Darth Vader. You can bring up everything that has an appearance of a Disney princess. You can search content by decade in the Disney Though the Ages section.

Beyond that, search is really snappy. I entered in a search for one of my favorites growing up, the 1975 film Escape from Witch Mountain. It popped up within the first 3 letters of the search. It’s an auto-populating search, thus results will start to appear while you are typing.

If you find something you like, you can tag it to your watch-list for viewing later. You can also use the left navigation menu to go directly to movies, series or Disney+ Originals. Within those options, a horizontal navigation appears on the page to cycle through different categories of movies and series. You can also setup seven user profiles on a single Disney+ account. Everyone in the family can have a curated list of their favorite shows and their own watch-list.

Just FYI, here are two cool features I noticed:

• In the Edit Profile option menu, you can turn off auto-playing the next video in a television series as well as turning off background videos playing on landing pages, like the trailer for a movie you are about to watch.
• Regarding content that’s not on the service yet, you will find the exact date on the landing pages. For instance, Thor: Ragnarok leaves Netflix and joins Disney+ on December 5th, 2019. The Last Jedi, December 26, 2019.

Is there enough content on Disney+?

Yes That goes for both kids and adults. The content library is enormous, especially at launch. And compared to another recently released service, it makes the Apple+ content library look silly.

Just a day prior to launch, Disney worked hard to get tons of Marvel movies on the service. It now includes the vast majority of Marvel’s movies, with the remaining Marvel movies (currently on Netflix) scheduled to move into Disney+ within the next six months.

Currently, you can find all the Iron Man films, most of the Avengers films (including Endgame), the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, the first two Thor films, Ant-Man, etc…  You can also find the large library of animated series (like 1990’s X-Men) as well as Marvel’s live action shows (but not the ones produced by Netflix like Daredevil).

Almost all the Star Wars movies are on the service, with the exception of Last Jedi and Solo. I imagine The Rise of Skywalker will be exclusive to the service as well, after the theatrical run. Outside of the movies, Disney has several of the popular animated Star Wars series in one place; Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance and all the LEGO shorts.

In the Pixar area, you will find the first three Toy Story movies, Cars, Wall-E, Up, The Incredibles, Brave, Ratatouille, The Good Dinosaur, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Monsters University, etc… You can also find all the fun Pixar shorts the studio includes at the start of their movies. One of my favorites was Lava. It was super cool to see that in HD again.

If you are into documentaries and science, you will find a ton of Nat Geo content. My wife’s favorite will probably be all the vets & pets shows like Dr. Pol or Dr. Oakley’s shows. There’s also a section for Nat Geo produced movies as well as original content like the quirky Jeff Goldblum show.

Of course, the volume of content available for children is ridiculous. There are animated classics Disney has pulled out of the vault like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Bambi, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc… There are Disney Channel favorites like Lizzie McGuire and Wizards of Waverly Place.  There’s a ton of Disney Jr. shows like Doc McStuffins and Elena of Avalor. There’s all the old school live action Disney movies like Mary Poppins and Pete’s Dragon. The list is nearly endless.

Regarding originals, I don’t love that Disney+ is adopting the episodic model for releasing original content. Perhaps I’m spoiled by Netflix binge sessions. That being said, the first episode of The Mandalorian was great and I’m looking forward to each Friday release. The few minutes of Jeff Goldblum’s show I watched was silly, but I get the niche audience it’s designed for. Kristin Bell’s Encore looks like a great, feel-good show as well.

Beyond the actual movies and shows, you can also find additional video content within the extras. Some of that includes director’s commentary tracks (like director commentary for Avengers: Endgame) as well as deleted scenes from the films (also with commentary). On the animated movies, you can find slideshows of deleted scenes that weren’t fully animated.

Is Disney+ streaming quality good?

Yes I previewed a variety of content, everything from original shows like The Mandalorian to old school Disney movies like Treasure Island. The Ultra HD content was phenomenal, especially animated movies like Frozen. I did find The Mandalorian a bit dark at times, but adjusted my TV settings to find the right balance.

As a home theater buff, I really liked the Ultra HD and HDR section of the menu. It provides quick access to high resolution content that will look amazing on your 4K television. In addition, you can find specific details about what video and audio formats are available on the Details page of a video. For instance, Avengers: Endgame supports 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, HDR10 and regular HDR.

Be warned, navigating the menu is somewhat troublesome at launch, likely due to the high volume of people attempting to try out the service. I ran into issues loading specific pieces of content, basically getting stuck on a forever loading circle. That being said, once the content page loaded, I had no issues getting the movie or television show going.

Here’s the dreaded loading circle: (Curse you, launch day loading times!)

The service allows you to stream content on up to four different devices at once. I tested this out with 3 devices, my TV (wireless), my computer (wired) and my Roku (wireless). I didn’t have any issue running all three at the same time on the same network, ideal for families that will be running multiple streams.

That being said, I am running a Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi mesh setup in my home as well as 350 Mbps download speeds. Video quality of the streams will be highly dependent on  your download speeds. You also could hit data caps with your service provider if you are streaming Ultra HD too often.

Is Disney+ worth a subscription?

Yes At $7-a-month, this is a no-brainer, especially if you have kids. At $70-a-year ($5.83-a-month), it gets even better. At that ridiculous $141 for 3-years deal ($4-a-month) we ran on Ben’s back in August, a million times YES.

It doesn’t matter what angle you approach this from. From a content standpoint, the library is already worth $7-a-month, for adults and kids. From a technical standpoint, you are paying less than half of what Netflix charges monthly for four simultaneous streams and Ultra HD quality streaming. From an accessibility standpoint, it’s on the majority of the major streaming platforms on day one. The full list includes Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android, iOS, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung Smart TVs and LG Smart TVs.

Just FYI, Disney is also offering a packaged deal with Hulu and ESPN+ for $13-a-month. There are downsides though. That is the version of Hulu with ads & it’s limited to a single stream. The ESPN+ service is limited to two streams in the bundle, rather than four in the standalone. But you will be able to stream from all 3 services at the same time.

In addition, be on the lookout for deals that package Disney+ with services. For instance, Verizon is offering a year of Fios Gigabit Internet for $70 a month & it includes Disney+ along with the $100 Visa gift card.

Let us know what you think of the Disney+ service in the comments below.

Disney+ Review: Packs Quite a Streaming Punch at a Low Cost

Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian is by far the most hyped series in the Disney+ rollout (see our review of the service). The two trailers hinted at a gritty Western-style approach to the Star Wars universe from series creator and showrunner Jon Favreau (Iron Man) … hmm, wait a second, wasn’t that George Lucas’s original vision for Star Wars?

Anyway, Favreau is also joined by TV producer Dave Filoni (Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) as well as Kathleen Kennedy (head of Lucasfilm) and movie producer Colin Wilson (War of the Worlds, The Lost World: Jurassic Park).

Then there’s the main character himself: the Mandalorian. Played by Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos), he looks like Boba Fett from the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special and sounds like he’s a laconic Clint Eastwood-type from the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns (also like Fett).

In the trailers we also caught glimpses of German director Werner Herzog (filling in the famed foreign actor spot, now a Star Wars cliche), as well as Rocky’s Carl Weathers (another veteran) and Gina Carano.

Bucking trend, Disney is rolling out the first season of The Mandalorian week by week, rather than all at once, so there’s no binge watching. The plan is to keep viewers subscribing, at least for a few months. Plus, on the horizon, there’s the Obi-Wan series starring Ewan McGregor to look forward to…

How does the premiere episode (aka Chapter 1) pan out? Let’s take a look.

Ralph McQuarrie Was Here

Chapter 1
Written by: Jon Favreau
Directed by: Dave Filoni

From the the first frame, the Western look of the show is established as the titular Mandalorian bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) steps onto a solitary snowy plain.  Ludwig Goransson’s score manages to evoke both John Williams / Star Wars and Ennio Morricone / Spaghetti Western-type music.

As soon as the Mandalorian enters an isolated outpost to find his bounty, a blue-gilled alien named Mythrol (Horatio Sanz), you are reminded of Ralph McQuarrie’s early Star Wars cantina concept painting with the Western-style standoff. Throughout the first episode, Favreau & Co. remind viewers of this motif with windmills, wooden fences, windswept plains and bucking horses, er, Blurrgs (more on those later).

But it’s in the action set pieces where the show’s creators really show off their penchant for the Western genre, particularly the Sergio Leone “Spaghetti” variety.

In the first scene, the Mandalorian shows off his lightning-quick draw and flair with various weapons against would-be assailants (who disparagingly call him a “Mando”). He takes his new prisoner Mythrol on what is essentially a Star Wars Uber ride across an icy plain to his ship, known as the Razor Crest. Designed by well-known Lucasfilm artist Doug Chiang (Star Wars prequels), this cool but dilapidated-looking ship is reminiscent of the iconic Jango/Boba Fett ship, the Slave I.

The Mandalorian rescues Mythrol from an ice creature that’s a cross between the slug in The Empire Strikes Back and a walrus, and they blast off in a classic Star Wars planet exit. That’s the first 7-1/2 minutes of the show.

Werner Herzog, Carl Weathers, Nick Nolte, Oh My!

After he treats Mythrol to a good ol’ carbonite freeze on his ship, the Mandalorian lands on another planet and meets Greef Carga (Carl Weathers) in a cantina that The Force Awakens wishes it had. We quickly find out we’re in the time period after the Empire has fallen (actually 5 years after Return of the Jedi), and that Greef Carga is the head of the Bondsman Guild, basically the Mandalorian’s boss. After the Mandalorian complains about low pay, Greef sends his best bounty hunter on a side job outside the auspices of the guild—a job for a mysterious rich guy.

That mysterious rich guy turns out to be famed German director/actor Werner Herzog, who’s cloistered in a room with four Original Trilogy-style stormtroopers and the Imperial-looking Dr. Pershing. Herzog gives the Mandalorian an ingot of Beskar steel (i.e. the Mandalorian iron used in their armor) as down payment for finding a new bounty. Herzog gives few details, except that he prefers the individual be taken alive and that they’re 50 years old.

The Mandalorian takes the ingot to a Mandalorian Armorer (Emily Swallow) where we learn he was once a “foundling” and we are treated to a quick-cut montage of him being hidden away as a little boy by his mother and father, who are under attack from off-screen enemies, presumably the Empire. It’s kind of an awkward way to shoehorn in some backstory, but it’s really the only character development we get in this episode. At the end of his visit to the Armorer, the Mandalorian is treated to a new pauldron made from the Beskar ingot.

Moments later, the Mandalorian jets off to a third planet. On a rocky desert landscape, he is greeted by a pair of big-toothed, two-legged, Dewback-looking creatures called Blurrgs who are impervious to his laser weapons and who try to rip him apart. Just before he’s dismembered, he’s saved by an Ugnaut riding another Blurrg.

His rescuer, Kuill the Ugnaut, is played by none other than Nick Nolte, yet another veteran actor (except this time via motion capture). With his signature line “I have spoken,” Kuill is sure to become a favorite in the series.

Here’s Where the Fun Begins

Kuill guides the Mandalorian to a remote compound where his quarry is located. It’s guarded by a collection of what look like hoodlums and criminals from Jabba the Hutt’s palace. I spotted creatures that look like Nikto, Weequay and Squid Head (Tessek). Approaching the compound is IG-11 (voiced by comedian Taika Waititi), who will instantly remind fans of the bounty hunter IG-88 from Empire. This IG-11 also works for the bounty hunter’s guild and steals the show with his comedic timing and one-liners.

The Mandalorian and IG-11 become unlikely allies as they storm the compound, facing off with the various aliens in a frenetic and entertaining Western-style shootout. The scene is by turns funny, tense and exciting and a great introduction to the rest of the series.

Inside the compound, they find the object of the Mandalorian’s quest… but I won’t spoil the surprise for you.

In similar fashion to the Marvel Studios title card, the new animated Star Wars universe logo in the opening titles is a nice touch. The show’s creators have thrown in various OT callbacks that are mostly amusing and not overdone, like a Salacious Crumb creature (Kowakian monkey-lizard) roasting over a fire pit and various Star Wars background characters like Ugnauts (from Empire), the TT-8L gatekeeper droid (think Jabba’s palace in ROTJ) and the Kubaz (that squeaky, hooded and long-snouted creature that spied on Luke in the original Star Wars).

From the brisk 39-minute running time to the PG-rated but gritty feel, it appears that Favreau & Co. have captured the tone of the original Star Wars trilogy that many fans have been clamoring for. It remains to be seen in which direction the show will take the audience, but it’s a positive start.

The next episode premieres this Friday, November 15th, and will then follow a weekly schedule over its 8-episode arc every Friday through December 27th.

Chapter 2: The Child
Written by: Jon Favreau
Directed by: Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood)

The first 10 minutes of the second episode are dialogue-free as we follow the Mandalorian with his precious cargo. It’s a very cinematic approach. The earthy desert color palettes are impressive, and the action sequence with Jawas who’ve ransacked his ship is inventive and touched with light humor.

The Force does make a cameo appearance as the Mandalorian fights a creature called a Mudhorn, but it’s not overdone.

Clocking in at under 30 minutes total, the second episode at times feels a bit like filler for a larger story arc, but the action, humor and character touches get the Star Wars tone right. Plus, we’re getting a distinct sense the Mandalorian is not quite the ruthless mercenary that Boba Fett was…

The Mandalorian Episode 1 Review: Spaghetti Space Western

If you know someone that hasn’t upgraded to a television with streaming apps or simply wants to upgrade an existing “dumb” television in their home, there are a ton of streaming media players that will get the job done.

In addition, there are a massive number of streaming media options available this year, with more coming next year. Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, etc…  If you want to stream everything, here are the best home theater, streaming media players for 2019:

Best Overall Option for Dolby Vision & HDR10+: Fire TV Cube

If you know someone that’s upgraded to a high end television that supports new formatting like Dolby Vision & HDR10+, Amazon’s new Fire Tv Cube (2019 model, MSRP $119) is your best bet. Utilizing a hexa-core processor (up to 2.2GHz), you can easily stream 4K content in Dolby Vision and HDR, HDR10+. There’s also support for the Dolby Atmos sound format on select titles on Netflix and Amazon.

Other cool features include the Alexa voice assistant, 16GB of storage, 802.11ac dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi, Ethernet support for hard wired connections and Bluetooth 5.0 support (longer range). The upgraded internals make is significantly faster than the previous model as well as faster than streaming stick options. If you are looking for a cheaper option, check out the Roku Ultra (which has equally snappy performance, but no Dolby Vision support; MSRP $99).

Check Price on Amazon

Best Option for Casting via Smartphone: Chromecast Ultra

If you know someone that lives their life with a smartphone in their face, consider getting a Chromecast Ultra so they can cast their streaming video from their phone to the television. The Ultra is 4K capable and includes support for HDR10 and Dolby vision. It also works with Google home, ideal for streaming content by voice commands.

If you don’t need 4K playback, consider the regular Google Chromecast. It provides an identical feature set, but limits resolution to 1080p at 60 frames per second. It’s half the price of the Ultra model and can be found as cheap as $20 on Black Friday.

Check Price on Amazon

Best Option for Tight Budgets: Roku Streaming Stick+

Definitely an awesome stocking stuffer, the Roku Streaming Stick is one of the better buys for overall quality and usability. I’ve tried all the smart user interfaces and Roku is always a step above the rest, which is why companies like TCL have adopted the Roku interface for their smart interface.

The Streaming Stick+ starts at $50, but Black Friday sales will drop it to $30 (page 5 of the Target Ad). It has a very small footprint (plugs into a HDMI port) and is extremely snappy. It supports 4K playback as well as HDR10 and Dolby Atmos. It also works with both Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control.  FYI, there are also even cheaper Roku options (probably in the $20 range on Black Friday) is you don’t need 4K playback.

Check Price on Amazon

Best Option for Apple Fanatics: Apple TV 4K

One of the priciest options on the list, the Apple TV 4K is ideal for anyone that’s invested a considerable amount of money in the Apple ecosystem of products (iPhone, iPad) and digital media (iTunes). Sold at $180 for the 32GB model and $200 for the 64GB, the device offers 4K resolution, Dolby Vision / HDR10 support and Dolby Atmos functionality.

It allows users to access Siri for voice control and does include an Ethernet port for those who prefer a hardwired connection. Like many other Apple products, don’t expect a huge sale on the Apple TV 4K during Black Friday sales. It may fall to the $150 range for new models and $130 for refurbished models.

Check Price on Amazon

Best (Two) Options for Gamers

If you know someone into video games, getting them a new gaming console will offer them access to awesome games as well as streaming video applications. There are two standout options:

• The Console Gamer: Get the Xbox One S. Significantly cheaper than the PS4 Pro, the Xbox One S can handle 4K streaming as well as offer playback of Ultra HD discs. You can find plenty of $200 Xbox One S bundles during November as well as a $150 Xbox On S digital console (if you only want 4K streaming, no disc playback). The Xbox One S supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
• The PC Gamer: Get the Nvidia Shield TV Pro. Offering access to any streaming app that’s on the Google Play store, the Sheild Tv Pro offers a really snappy performance with the new Tegra X1+ processor as well as access to over 200 games on Android TV. The 2019 model supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby TrueHD with Atmos via Plex.  But one of the biggest selling points of the Shield is the ability to stream games from your PC to your television; ideal for anyone with a huge PC gaming library.

Check Price on Xbox One S / Check Price on Nvidia Shield Pro

Check Ben’s for the latest streaming media player deals

2019 Gift Guide: The Best Streaming Media Players

Solo: A Star Wars Story, like 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is a movie that probably didn’t need to be made as it’s simply more backstory to which audiences basically already know the ending. It’s also opening just six months after The Last Jedi divided audiences and stirred up a backlash against Disney, director Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. And it’s been less than a year since veteran director Ron Howard took over for fired directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The LEGO Movie) and re-shot 70% of the movie. Yes, 70%!

So there’s all that, and current year Han Solo (aka Alden Ehrenreich) looks and sounds nothing like Harrison Ford. You know, the guy who made this Han Solo character a huge cinematic icon.

With all its baggage, Solo seems like it’s limping into theaters. In its final form, there are indeed some cringe-y moments, and there’s a certain slapdash quality to the whole proceedings, which is not surprising considering the behind-the-scenes upheaval. But a funny thing happened on the way back to a galaxy far, far away for the 11th time: it’s not that bad.

So, in keeping with the theme of lowered expectations, here are a few troubling elements that you may find yourself overlooking:

• A first half that’s so often dark and gray you’ll find yourself squinting during long stretches.
• That cheesy opening title card fading in over a Corellian cityscape. (It only lacks the bad Rogue One cue.)
• The early villain Lady Proxima looks like a reject from The Dark Crystal or Fraggle Rock.
• The origin scene for Han’s name.
• The uneven tone, so you’re not sure if it’s supposed to be campy or serious.
• The “comedic relief” droid L3-37 seems like it’s in a different movie—actually, a different franchise altogether.
• Do those Wookiees in the spice mines of Kessel look like they’re from the Planet of the Apes?
• Proto-rebels are always so self-serious. (Think “I rebel.”)
• The cameo at the end is ho-hum and reminds you of a terrible entry in the series.

Then there’s the whole thing with Paul Bettany. Dropped in by new director and old buddy Ron Howard—they worked together on the Academy Award-winning A Beautiful Mind—Bettany is a scratched-up space gangster who wields red laser knives and who also looks like he belongs in a different movie or franchise (but not the same one that L3-37 is in, either).

As for the actor who doesn’t look or sound anything like Harrison Ford, Alden Ehrenreich does as good a job as possible. You could even say he inhabits the role. Would that role be the real Han Solo? Well, think of it more akin to Chris Pine playing Captain Kirk. It’s not mimicry and it’s not necessarily homage, but it’s not deconstruction or subversion either. Just another guy playing a character with the same name. Not the end of the world.

However, thanks to co-screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (you know, The Empire Strikes Back), there are certain beats and lines that sound like they certainly could’ve been played by Harrison Ford. And for a moment or two you wonder if Disney couldn’t have just cast Harrison Ford and made him look young like they did Kurt Russell in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

The same can be said for Donald Glover, who also has an unenviable task of following up a legend, in this case the character of Lando Calrissian originally played (perfectly) by Billy Dee Williams. Glover adds his own comedic charm to his scenes and has good chemistry with Ehrenreich, which makes you wonder if any of their buddy moments are from that 30% left over from Lord and Miller.

Woody Harrelson (Tobias Beckett), Emilia Clarke (Qi’ra) and Thandie Newton (Val) are recognizable faces that round out the rest of the cast. Of course, there’s also Chewbacca (played again by Joonas Suotamo as in The Last Jedi), and now he’s wearing two bandolier straps instead of one! (Think of the toy possibilities…) They all do a good enough job, although Harrelson was more interesting in War for the Planet of the Apes.

Sometime after the gang picks up Lando, the movie starts to pick up some steam, and you might even find yourself having some fun and a few light chuckles along the way. The now-expected fan service and Easter eggs are tastefully done, although there are a couple clumsy attempts at interlocking the universe a la the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Did this movie have to be made? Not really. It’s about half an hour too long, and it feels more like the first few episodes of a Netflix Originals Star Wars series.

Still, Solo is probably benign enough to escape the loathing fans have heaped upon other movies in the series. Time will tell, of course.

Solo Review: Han Shoots First (But Don’t Get Your Hopes Up)

Yesterday, after 2,000 miles and a week on the road, we made it to Disneyland! It was crowded, it was hot, it was crazy expensive…but man it was fun! We hit it hard for about 12 hours and were able to experience all the rides I’ve been wanting to go on since I was a kid: Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Teacups, Indiana Jones. Like they say, dreams do come true!

This was our first time doing Disney, and while I’m certainly no expert yet, we did learn some good tips and tricks for making the most of our limited time and budget. Here are some of them:

Download the Disneyland App

What did people do before smartphones?! Certainly not enjoy their first time at Disney, because without the Disneyland app, I’d have been completely lost and overwhelmed with this place!

Before you go, set up an account and buy your tickets right from the app. I asked around, read all sorts of stuff online, and there’s really no legit way to get discounted Disneyland tickets, unless you’re willing to “borrow” some random person from Craigslists’ season passes for a fee, which you know, doesn’t sound like a great idea. When we got to the park entrance, there was a huge line at the ticket booth, but if you purchased tickets from the app, you could go right up to the entrance and they just scanned a barcode from your phone. Trust me, there are plenty of lines inside the park; you don’t want to add to it before you even get in!

Another nice thing about the app is that it shows you the approximate wait times for the rides around you. I didn’t find it to be completely accurate, but it was super helpful just to gauge what had a “short” wait vs a “long” wait; if something said it had a 15 minute wait, we knew it’d be under 30 minutes, where a ride with a listed 50 minute wait was one we’d for sure want to set up a FastPass for (see below!).

Pay extra for the MaxPass Tickets

Apparently this is a new thing (July 2017), but you can pay an extra $10 per ticket for the MaxPass experience. Basically, it allows you to sign up for FastPasses from the Disneyland app, and it also gives you unlimited PhotoPass downloads for your stay. It was totally worth it in my opinion! FastPasses allow you to skip to the front of the line on popular rides, and without the MaxPass thing, you have to actually show up at the rides, get a physical FastPass ticket, then arrive back again at your designated time. MaxPass allows you to sign up for FastPasses from your phone, from anywhere, which is obviously much easier!

The PhotoPass thing was actually pretty amazing too. Throughout the park there are Disney photographers who take pictures for you, and if you have the PhotoPass, they scan a barcode on your phone, and the pictures show up on the app. Then you can save them, share them, etc, for free!

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time we got a family picture that wasn’t a selfie. It was really awesome that we could ask one of the Disney photogs to take our picture and it just showed up a few minutes later on my phone! They were located at the castle, all of the character meet & greets, and other popular photo spots. When you’re already paying $100+ a ticket, adding another $10 for this plus the mobile FastPasses really seems like a no-brainer to me.

Buy Disney Souvenirs and Pins Before You Go

My parents went to Disney World a couple months ago and gave us this great tip: buy trading pins on eBay before your trip. No idea what trading pins are? That’s okay, neither did I, but it’s definitely a thing! Basically, people trade officially licensed Disney pins with the cast members at Disneyland; if someone working at the park has a pin you like, they have to trade you for it if you ask them to. You can purchase these pins inside the park (for a lot of money of course), but you can also just buy big lots of them on eBay for super cheap. We bought 25 for around $12 before we left. We divided them up and put them on lanyards, and the kids had a lot of fun trading them for new ones during our day at Disney.

This may sound weird, but we also bought the kids some “souvenirs” before we even got to Disneyland. I knew my daughter was going to want something Moana-related, so the night before we went, we gave her a  Moana Heart of Te Fititi necklace that we bought from Walmart for $5. Same necklace will cost you $20 inside Disney! So many of the stuffed animals, costumes, toys, etc, you can find at Target, Walmart, or Amazon for so much less. Just secretly pack them into your backpack and pull them out inside the park of you want to save some money!

Do the Jedi Training!

I’m a pretty big Star Wars nerd. So when I heard there was a “Jedi training” kids could do, I knew we had to do it. It’s about an hour time commitment, but it was super awesome. Definitely a highlight of the day!

Kids have to be at least four years old (bummer for my 3 year old daughter!), and you have to pre-register. You sign up at the Star Wars Launch Bay entrance in Tomorrowland for the time slot of your choice. Everyone said spots go super fast, but we showed up at around 1PM and there were plenty of tickets left for the 4:30 slot. The whole experience was super fun, and my son was beaming for hours after it was over. They even get a cool “Future of the force” button at the end, and the whole thing doesn’t cost any extra money!

Pack Your Own Food

Did you know you can bring food and drinks into Disney? If you’re going to be carrying a backpack anyway, definitely pack your meals! We brought in sandwiches for lunch, but I ended up wishing we’d brought something for dinner, too! The food you can buy there is okay, but it’s expensive (shocking!). I bought a salad for dinner, and it was like $12, and not anything to write home about. Honestly, my kids were so excited to get to the next ride, they didn’t want to spend a lot of time eating meals anyway. I would suggest food you can eat while walking–sandwiches, granola bars, string cheese, etc. Then if you want to splurge on some fun treats, you won’t feel guilty for spending the money.

Don’t Go on a Saturday

So we actually did go on Saturday, but I kind of wish we hadn’t! Everyone I talked to said it was crazy busy that day, and blamed it on the fact that it was a Saturday. Without FastPasses, all the popular rides had super long wait times (some an hour+), and it was just hard to walk with the huge crowds of people everywhere. Going on a Saturday didn’t ruin our trip, but if you have any choice in the matter, I’d say aim for a weekday.

Bring Extra Phone Power

So I’ve mentioned how awesome the Disneyland app is, but it drains your phone battery pretty fast. And when you’re at the park for 12 hours like we were, that means a dead phone long before you leave. I really wished I would have brought an external battery pack or charger case! Learn from my mistake, and make sure you plan ahead.

Research the Rides and Make a List Before You Go

I usually prefer to just wander around and go on rides that look cool as I see them, but that tactic just doesn’t really work at Disney. You could easily spend a week there, so if you have just one day, you really need to plan and prioritize. Also, a lot of the rides have pretty lax height restrictions compared to other theme parks I’ve visited, so I (wrongly) assumed if my 3 year old was tall enough to go on something, it couldn’t be too scary. For example, I didn’t even know what Space Mountain was, other than that it was supposed to be awesome, which resulted in one kid hiding in my lap, the other begging “Mommy hold me!!”, and this hilarious picture:

Overall, Disneyland left me wanting more, more, more. The lines were long, but the rides themselves were also longer than any other rides I’ve ever gone on. I also loved that most of them allowed you to bring you baby along on your lap; this meant that we could go on a lot of the rides together as a family. It proved itself to be the place with the longest lines on earth, but really, the happiest place on earth.

Ben’s on the Road: Disneyland!

Disney has made a fortune by not preparing kids for reality. One of the appeals of Disney movies is escaping to a fantasy world where candlesticks talk, carpets fly, and every character has their own quirky animal sidekick. That’s all fine and good until the same Disney characters become parents. Once the Prince knocks up the Princess, and things start getting real.

Earlier this year, Buzzfeed and artist Paul Westover posted these funny glimpses into the unsettling reality of our favorite Disney characters as parents.

What If Disney Characters Were Parents?

Was this inevitable? If Avatar gets a land, then Star Wars most definitely gets a land. At Disney’s annual D23 event, during which they usually announce one or two ways the company is planning on encouraging a second mortgage on the house, Disney announced a thing that might actually encourage you to just buy a smaller house. Star Wars lands are coming to both Disney World in Orlando, Fl. and Disneyland in Anaheim, Cal. By the sound of it they’ll be roughly the same thing, featuring two primary ride attractions cut across 14 acres of pure intergalactic fantasy.

Concept art for Star Wars Land provided by Disney.

From Disney’s official post on the matter, written by Social Media Director at Disneyland, Erin Glover:

“Ambitious plans to bring Star Wars to life in the two parks include creating Disney’s largest single-themed land expansions ever at 14-acres each, transporting guests to a never-before-seen planet, a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life…

These authentic lands will have two signature attractions, including the ability to take the controls of one of the most recognizable ships in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon, on a customized secret mission, and an epic Star Wars adventure that puts guests in the middle of a climactic battle.”

That second attraction is actually being pulled from the as-yet-unreleased Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which at this point better be damned good. Then again, they’re making an Avatar world. (Then again, again, that movie made almost $2.8 billion dollars internationally). It’s unlikely Star Wars: The Force Awakens doesn’t at least hit the $1.5 billion mark, which we can only hope might overcome the marketing budget on this behemoth to turn a mild profit, he said facetiously. Of course, as with the new Star Wars Lands, the real profit comes from the merchandising fallout of any given new release. Even the more recent trilogy reinvigorated the brand to massive heights.

Under the tenure of company president Bob Iger, Disney has been expanding its parks of late at an incredible rate. In addition to the already mentioned Avatar-themed world coming to Disney World’s Animal Kingdom in 2017, 2012 saw the introduction of a Cars-themed area at Disneyland, most notably featuring a massive ride utilizing the base design from Test Track and greatly-improved animatronics to take riders on a trip through those films’ Radiator Springs locale.

It’s unclear just when the Star Wars lands will reach fruition, though we certainly won’t be walking through them for at least three or four years, probably more. Also unclear is just where these lands are being built within each primary location, though presumably they will be add-ons to existing parks rather than parks in and of themselves. Disney World’s Hollywood Studios could certainly use the booster.

The statement above more or less covers everything Disney has said on the matter. Click through to the statement itself to try and prove me wrong. You will be sad.

If you just can’t wait until 20XX, Star Wars already has, and has had for quite some time, a footprint in the Disney parks, even before Disney acquired the property in full. The company completely remade the Star Tours motion simulator attraction at Hollywood Studios in 2011. You might also engage in such activities as the following:

We also put together a small guide for everyone who needs to catch up on Star Wars or just scratch that itch without the fatal use of a lightsaber. You’ll find links to blu-ray collections, the proper video games to play (because, yes, there are correct Star Wars video games) and a bunch of other stuff that definitely matters.

Star Wars Lands Coming to Disney World and Disneyland

Yeah, we made a fuss about seeing The Little Mermaid when we were kids because it seemed like such a girly movie… but we sang a different tune during that scene when she got her legs and swam to the surface naked. For many of us, the luscious and doe-eyed Disney princesses sparked our sexual awakenings. Whether it was Jasmine’s mid-riff or Pocahontas’s short skirt that seemed impractical for running around the woods. These deviously drawn beauties captured our hearts — and, er, other body parts — as adolescents. For years they represented the ideals of femininity… until Adam Ellis gave them all beards.

Source: Buzzfeed

Disney Princesses with Beards Put Our Sexual Awakenings Back to Sleep

It had to happen at some point, right? Forget the Disney Princesses as fierce Jedi warriors. Combining Grumpy Cat with classic scenes in Disney animated films is just brilliant. Developed by digital artist Eric Proctor (otherwise known as TsaoShin on DeviantArt), this collection of artwork inserts everyone’s favorite disgruntled feline into films such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and The Lion King.

Developed within Photoshop, these hilarious scenes will make you want a full animated feature starring good ole Tardar Sauce. After earning some magic Internet points at Reddit, Proctor plans to continue the series with a scene from Tangled and Beauty and the Beast. You can keep up with his future work on his DeviantArt page here.

Check out the entire collection, to date, of the Grumpy Cat Disney mashups. There’s also a bonus 1080p Grumpy Cat wallpaper, created by Proctor, at the end of the article (click to expand), enjoy!

“Circle of No”

“A Whole New No”

“Part of Your No”

1080p Grumpy Cat Wallpaper

This is What Happens When You Mix Grumpy Cat and Disney Films