My Disney+ subscription has become a staple for me, and it’s hard to get rid of for too long. I think it’s one of the best streaming services. I love that every Disney movie from my childhood is there for me to watch at all times, along with all the Marvel movies, tons of my favorite TV shows and so forth. When I don’t have something in mind to watch, it’s very easy for me to spend twenty minutes doomscrolling in the app before finally giving up or pressing something completely random. I know I’m not the only one dealing with this.
Recently, my doomscrolling actually led to one interesting discovery of a new feature on Disney+, and I want to talk about it.
How Disney+’s New Playlist Feature Works
As I ventured further down the list on Disney+'s TV app, I found a section called “Playlists”. While this feature has been around for a while, it was just expanded last month to include a lot more playlists. I counted 30.
It’s a great idea. There are playlists based on certain franchises or genres found on Disney+. Right now there’s a ton of Halloween-themed ones that are split into different subcategories and ratings. Like, if I want a lighter, family-friendly Halloween movie, I can click on “Halloween Throwbacks,” which is rated TV-PG, and it goes right to playing Halloweentown when I click on it. There’s a more mature one that’s rated PG-13 called “Halloween Movies”. It started with Frankenweenie when I just tried it.
Then, there’s one that’s called “Countdown To Avengers: Doomsday” and a bunch for specific genres like rom-coms, sci-fi movies, or documentaries. The app also has playlists for specific TV shows like Modern Family and The Simpsons. Now that I’ve found it, I can totally see myself just going to this section and hitting play on one of them. It'll come in handy, especially on the days when I don’t know what to watch, but I have a certain vibe in mind.
The One Way I Would Improve It
I do think there’s one downfall to the Disney+ Playlist feature. Instead of narrowing down my options, it completely takes away choice. Once you click a playlist, it goes right to a movie or TV episode without any explanation of what you’re about to watch. When I first used it, I found myself hitting “next” over and over because I was curious what was on the playlist.
I have an idea of how this could be fixed. I think if the app added one more screen before you get into a random movie, it would make me feel like I still “picked” something. I imagine it giving me two title options with a quick description of what they are or something that says “Surprise Me”. So, let’s say I click on the Romantic Comedies playlist. Rather than it going straight to No Hard Feelings, I would have the option between No Hard Feelings and 10 Things I Hate About You, or I could take a chance on something random with the "Surprise Me" button.
While I have my idea for how the Playlists feature could improve, I’m happy the Disney+ feature was added. I think it’s going to be a great way to enjoy my subscription on those days when I don’t know what to watch, and perhaps discover Disney movies I didn’t even know about.
