Best answer: Yes, Disney Plus (Disney+) supports Chromecasting content from your Android phone or tablet. Whether your TV is new or old, smart or "dumb," you can watch Disney+ on it with a Chromecast. The Chromecast Ultra also supports Dolby Vision for HDR content, but it doesn't support Dolby Atmos, so you won't get 5.1 surround sound.
- Cast away: Disney+ ($7/month at Disney+)
- Upgrade your TV: Google Chromecast ($35 at Best Buy)
Google Chromecast is supported by Disney+
Among the many platforms that Disney+ supported at launch are the Google Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices. This is great news because that means that it's easy as pie to switch between watching on a phone to watching on the big screen at home, even if you don't own a TV with Android TV or Roku built into it. Using Disney+ on a Chromecast is easy as three taps.
How to watch Disney+ on a Chromecast
- Open Disney+ on your phone, tablet, or desktop computer.
- To Chromecast from Disneyplus.com, you need to tap the cast icon from the web player, so start playing a video and then the Chromecast icon will appear in the top-right corner next to the captions icon.
- Tap the Chromecast you'd like to cast to.
- Hit Play on any content you want to watch. A playback control screen will open where you can pause, rewind, fast forward, or mute the audio.Source: Ara Wagoner / Android Central
The easy mute toggle is only available when Chromecasting, so if you're like me and tend to mute particularly cringe-worthy scenes, you may actually prefer Chromecasting over playing through the app on an Android TV. To stop casting, just tap the cast icon in the top-right corner again and tap Stop casting.
Common Chromecast bugs on Disney+
While casting has been a fairly seamless experiece in my personal use, there are a few common quirks Chromecast users have been reporting. The most prevalent issue is that sometimes when you start watching a movie or episode, then stop watching before the end, the video might start at the beginning when you try to pick up where you left off. It's gotten better as time has gone on, but it still crops up from time to time.
Some users have also reported instances where the stream will pause and then end, but these instances usually occur when the servers are overloaded and streaming on all platforms is glitching.
While we know the Chromecast Ultra can support HDR playback through Dolby Vision, there have been mixed results trying to cast movies and shows that we know have 4K, like The Mandaorian. If you're seeing 1080p picture even when using a Chromecast Ultra with a 4K TV, remember that in order for Disney to detect the proper conditions and enable 4K playback, the 4K TV you're plugging your Chromeast Ultra into needs to support HDCP 2.2. Also, both the Chromecast Ultra and your TV need to support Dolby Vision.
No smarts in your TV? No problem.
Disney doesn't care if you have the latest and greatest TV, they'll still let you watch movies and shows new and old from the Disney Vault, as well as even more content from Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and 20th Century/Fox.
Bring Disney+ magic to your "dumb" TV.
Whether your TV isn't getting a native app or your TV is too old to have apps (like mine), you can still get Disney+ on your TV without breaking the bank or having to deal with a second remote — your phone is all the remote you need.
