How to give a subscription of Disney+ as a holiday gift

Best answer: Yes, you can buy someone a Disney+ subscription as a holiday gift. You can now buy 12-month subscription cards for Disney Plus (Disney+) as gifts in the U.S. The cards are only available at Disney Stores in the U.S. and at certain stores at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort. But you can also buy one as a digital gift card and have the option of having it delivered via scheduled email.

• Share the magic: Disney+ (gift card at Disney+)

In a galaxy not so far away...

Disney has long been the home to magic and wonderment, so many people have longed to have access to it all on a whim. Well, that wait is over now that Disney+ has landed.

The list of things that make this streaming service exciting is a long one. From movies and TV shows that span decades, to some of the most recent releases like Captain Marvel, Disney+ has so much for us to consume. Aside from all the classics we know and love from Disney, there's also brand new original content available only on Disney+. Shows in the Star Wars universe like The Mandalorian and even High School Musical: The Musical: The Series are on the service, with shows set in the Marvel Universe like WandaVision making their way over soon.

Great, can I gift Disney+ to my favorite people?

You can now purchase 12-month subscription cards for Disney+ so that you can give the gift of Disney magic. Unfortunately, they aren't available for purchase online yet, so be prepared to brave the holiday rush at the mall. Disney+ subscription cards are only available at:

• Brick-and-mortar Disney Stores
• Select stores at Walt Disney World, such as World of Disney at Disney Springs and the Emporium inside the Magic Kingdom
• Select stores at Disneyland, such as the Emporium inside Disneyland and Elias and Co inside Disney's California Adventure

There isn't a digital gift card for Disney+ yet — nor are there gift options for subscribers in other Disney+ countries — but hopefully this will be added in the near future.

New subscribers only!

These gift cards are only for new subscribers; you can't use one if you already have an account — or have signed up for a seven-day trial before. When you go to DisneyPlus.com/Redeem to activate the card, you need to be a fresh user. If you already have an account — regardless of whether it's active or if you just did the free trial and then canceled — when you hit "Redeem", you'll see a progress bar spin a moment, and then nothing happens.

I'm hopeful that Disney revises this policy because that means that right now if you buy someone a Disney+ subscription card, you run the risk of giving them a gift that seemed thoughtful but can't be used.

What if I already have an account and someone gave me a subscription card?

If you were on a monthly billing cycle, the easiest thing for you to do is going to be to cancel your current subscription and make a new account with a different email address.

If you're currently on an annual billing cycle, you'll need to wait for your current subscription to end, then make a new account with a new email address. Maybe Disney will have enabled these gift cards to work with existing accounts by then.

If you're a Founder's Circle subscriber with the three-year D23 package, then you have one of two options: put the card in a drawer until your current sub runs out in 2022 (or Disney allows current subscribers to redeem them) or re-gift the card to someone who can actually use it.