UPDATE: Despite the new preview pages in the countries we mentioned, CEO Bob Chapek announced yesterday that Eastern Europe launch is now delayed until summer 2022. As of now we expect these countries to be Wave 1 but so far out anything could change.
Thanks to Redditor KenobiHighGroundJedi it looks like Disney’s next launch plans are finally coming together. While it’s been known since Investor Day in December 2020 that Disney would launch in Eastern Europe later this year, specific countries have never been mentioned. With today’s news we may now know which countries are first in line. If this list is complete, many people will remain waiting.
The aforementioned Redditor from Romania visited disneyplus.com today and discovered that the “Coming Soon” page had changed to include the brand logos (including Star). After a trip to the source code he found other countries listed including some Central European countries and even a few in Asia. I investigated using magic and can confirm.
Before I reveal the countries there are a few oddities that must be mentioned – Malaysia and Thailand, both of which received Disney+ Hotstar launches on June 1st and June 30th respectively are listed. I mean, I think I speak for everyone when I say… what? Not only that – I can confirm if you live in Thailand or Malaysia and visit DisneyPlus.com this coming soon page appears. Again. What? Philippines is also listed. It was announced long ago Disney+ Hotstar would launch there so what is going on? Could Disney have decided to give them the proper service or is it a mistake (?) like the listings in MY and TH.
The countries without Disney+ that are mentioned are definitely getting it between September – November with specific dates and details likely coming at the August 12th Disney Q3 FY21 Earnings Call. In the meantime, let’s reveal the countries getting it!
Eastern / Central Europe Launch Phase 1
- Bulgaria
- Czechia (The Czech Republic)
- Greece
- Israel
- Hungary
- Poland
- Romania
- Turkey
- Liechtenstein
- Andorra
In addition to these 10 and the 3 Hotstar countries in South East Asia, a wild South Africa appears! It looks like South Africa will be grouped with Eastern Europe instead of waiting for the rest of Africa to launch in 2022 or later. This is certainly a logical decision since English is one of the primary languages and they don’t have to have all the dubs and subs that some countries need.
Beyond those 14 countries Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan are listed. The first two were announced as coming back at Investor Day 2020 and Taiwan leaked prior to Investor Day as one of the countries they were preparing.
The only country missing from this list that Disney announced back in December is Japan which makes sense as they already have Disney+, but just need the Star brand tile added in.
If this information is complete, it raises the question of when the rest of Eastern Europe (and the rest of Europe in general) will get the service. You may recall Western Europe launched in two batches. This is likely the same strategy.
Eastern / Central Europe Wave 2:
Note: Not all of these are considered “Eastern” Europe but may be grouped together to fill out Europe.
- Belarus
- Moldova
- Slovakia
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Croatia
- Republic of Macedonia
- Montenegro
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Estonia
- Latvia (North Europe)
- Lithuania
- Armenia
- Georgia
- Kazakhstan
- Azerbaijan
- Malta
Bottom line is when 2021 wraps it look like Disney will still have a lot further to go than we all expected.
Asian Countries Without Disney+:
- Brunei
- Cyprus
- Maca
- Bangladesh
- Pakistan
- Timor-Leste
- Bahrain
- Qatar
- Mongolia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Myanmar
- Afghanistan
- Yemen
- Nepal
- Saudi Arabia
- Uzbekistan
- Kazakhstan
- Syria
- Cambodia
- Jordan
- United Arab Emirates
- Sri Lanka
- Turkmenistan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Oman
- China
- North Korea
If I forgot any I apologize, let me know! Point is that Disney is very far from achieving full coverage like Netflix did a few years ago when it launched in over 150 countries simultaneously! Seeing it all written out is depressing – so many Disney fans left waiting and we didn’t even list Africa where Disney hasn’t even given the slightest hint of launch window.
Are you one of the countries next in line? Are you disappointed to see your country still not listed?
Drew Ryan is a film, TV, and Disney geek. He has degrees in English, Student Personnel Administration, and Library & Information Science from Lawrence University, Concordia University-Wisconsin, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Interested in the minutia and licensing of streaming service content, he is always publishing lists, suggestions, and advocating for Disney’s missing library to be added to Disney+. Drew subscribes to Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, and Paramount+. You can find him waxing nostalgic over classic Disney Channel or geeking out over Marvel, CW shows, & Disney on Twitter.
