How to Download on Disney Plus and Watch Offline
Disney+ downloads need a plan without adverts and the phone or tablet app, work on up to 10 devices and expire unless you reconnect every 30 days.
Open the Disney+ app on a phone or tablet, find the film or episode, and tap the Download icon, which is an arrow pointing down. When the tick appears, the title is in the Downloads tab and plays with no connection.
Two things catch people out. No Disney+ plan with adverts includes downloads, and there are none on laptops, TVs or Windows tablets, whatever plan you have.
A third applies to many of our readers: Disney+ is not sold in Nigeria. When we opened disneyplus.com from Nigeria, it answered “Sorry, Disney+ is not available in your region.” So this guide is for readers in countries where Disney+ is offered, and every detail below comes from Disney+’s own guide to downloads, its plan pages and its Help Centre.
Disney+ downloads at a glance
| Question | What Disney+ says |
|---|---|
| Which plans | Plans without adverts. In the United States that means Disney+ Premium and the Premium bundles; in the United Kingdom and Australia, Standard and Premium |
| Which devices | Phones and tablets with the Disney+ app. Not TVs, computers or Windows 10 and 11 tablets |
| How many devices | Up to 10 |
| How long a download lasts | 30 days offline, then the device has to reconnect |
| Quality settings | Standard, Medium or High |
| What can be saved | “Select” films and shows, so not every title |
How to download a film or episode
These are the steps in Disney+’s own guide to downloads.
- Open the Disney+ app on your phone or tablet and sign in.
- Find the title you want to take with you.
- Tap the Download icon, the down arrow. For a series, choose the episodes you want.
- Follow the progress in the Downloads tab. A tick appears when the download is complete.
- Play it from the Downloads tab whenever you like, online or not.
To clear one out afterwards, select Remove Download.
Which plans allow downloads
The rule is the same in every country we looked at: the plan with adverts has no downloads.
- United States. Disney+ says downloads require Disney+ Premium or a Premium bundle, and names three: the Disney+, Hulu Bundle Premium, the Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle Premium and the Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle Premium. The plan chart on its US page ticks Downloads for those and leaves the row blank for the versions with adverts. The Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max bundle splits the same way: downloads on the no-ads version only.
- United Kingdom. Disney+ sells three plans. Premium and Standard both come with “downloads on up to 10 devices”. Standard With Ads has none.
- Australia. The same split: Downloads is ticked for Premium and Standard and blank for Standard with Ads.
Disney+’s Help Centre adds a warning for anyone thinking of moving down a tier: switching to a plan with adverts removes the downloads already on your device.
The cheapest plan is the one without downloads in all three countries. If watching offline is the reason you are subscribing, read the Downloads row of the plan chart before you choose.
Which devices work
Downloads live in the mobile app. Disney+’s guide lists that app for iPhones and iPads, Android phones and tablets, and Amazon Fire tablets.
The guide lists a Windows 10 and 11 app as well, then rules it out for this purpose: downloads “aren’t compatible on TVs, computers, or Windows 10/11 tablets”. That rules out a laptop or a MacBook, even though Disney+ streams on both. If you want a film on a bigger screen during a flight, a tablet is the only route.
The limit is ten devices. The Help Centre puts it this way: the same film or episode can be downloaded on up to 10 supported mobile devices.
How long a download lasts
The Help Centre says a download stays watchable offline for 30 days from the day you download it, unless the title leaves Disney+ before then. Disney+’s guide states the same thing as an instruction: reconnect the device to the internet at least once every 30 days to keep downloads active.
You also have to remain a subscriber. The Help Centre ties downloads to an active subscription.
Quality, storage and data
Two settings under App Settings in the Disney+ app matter here.
- Download Quality. The choices are Standard, Medium and High. Disney+’s own summary is that lower quality means smaller files and faster downloads.
- Download Over Wi-Fi Only. With it on, downloads wait for Wi-Fi and leave your mobile data alone.
Disney+ gives no file sizes on the pages we could read. Its advice for a phone that is nearly full is practical enough: lower the quality, download the next few episodes instead of a whole season, and remove each one after you have watched it.
What you cannot download
- Anything, on a plan with adverts.
- Some titles on any plan. Disney+ describes downloads as covering “select” films and shows. If a title has no download arrow, it is not available to save.
- Hulu titles beyond a tighter cap. In the United States, the Help Centre says Premium subscribers can download most Hulu content inside the Disney+ app, and that Hulu content may be limited to 25 downloads across five devices at a time.
This guide covers Disney+’s own download button and nothing else. We have left out screen recorders and ripping tools. Save only what your subscription gives you the right to save.
Where Disney+ is not offered
Nigeria is one such place, as the message on disneyplus.com makes plain. Our guide to Netflix alternatives lists the streaming services that do take payment in naira.
India is a different case. Disney’s films and series are in the JioHotstar app there: its Google Play listing names Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic, and calls the app the Disney+ destination. JioHotstar is a separate service with its own plans, so nothing in this guide describes how its downloads work.
For travellers, the Help Centre says that abroad you can stream whatever Disney+ offers in the country you are in, and suggests downloading before you leave. Its pages do not say whether downloads keep playing in a country where Disney+ is not sold at all. The 30-day reconnect applies wherever you are.
If a download will not play
The rules above explain most cases.
- The device has been offline for more than 30 days. Connect it and open the app.
- The title has left Disney+, and the download went with it.
- The plan was changed to one with adverts, which removes downloads.
- The subscription has ended.
For anything else, Disney+ has a Help Centre page called Troubleshooting offline download issues. It needs a full web browser to load.
Quick answers
Can you download on Disney Plus with ads?
No. Disney+ says ad-supported plans do not include downloads. That holds for the standalone plan and for the bundles.
How long do Disney Plus downloads last?
Thirty days offline. Reconnect the device to the internet within that time and they stay active, for as long as you subscribe and the title remains on Disney+.
Can you download Disney Plus films on a laptop?
No. Disney+ says downloads are not compatible with computers, TVs or Windows 10 and 11 tablets. They work on phones and tablets only.
Is there a Disney Plus download limit?
The limit Disney+ states is on devices: up to 10. We could not find a stated number for how many titles one device can hold, apart from the cap of 25 on Hulu content.
Is Disney Plus available in Nigeria?
No. Opened from Nigeria, disneyplus.com says the service is not available in the region.
