Lindsey Kuiper — Staff Writer

Students gather in freshman Emma Lamfers’ dorm room, wrapped in blankets and passing around popcorn and jellybeans. They sit on beds and face a TV showing Home Alone. The main character Kevin McAllister gives his bitter greeting, resulting in laughter from everyone in the room: “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!”

Situations like these happen frequently around Dordt’s campus. Now that Disney Plus has been released, students have been given the option to incorporate beloved childhood movies or TV shows into nights in with friends. On Dordt’s campus, where binge-watching and movie marathons is a commonality, Disney Plus has become an important service for some students.

“I love Disney movies. They’re just happy, and they make me smile,” Lamfers said. “You don’t have to worry about inappropriate things, which I like.”

Disney Plus released on November 12 and costs $6.99 a month. On the first day of its release, the site experienced numerous glitches and crashes due to the sheer number of people trying to watch at the same time.

According to an article from CNET, Disney claims that Disney Plus will be the future of the company, but some data would beg to differ. Google has shown four times as many people are searching how to cancel Disney Plus than those googling how to cancel Netflix. However, their partnership with Verizon means that customers with an unlimited 4G LTE or 5G account can watch Disney free for a year.

Lamfers has taken advantage of the partnership and currently has a free trial. “I’m hoping to watch as many movies as possible before the year ends so I don’t have to renew,” she said. Some of the movies she’s watched so far include Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters Inc, and Finding Nemo.

While some students immediately bought Disney Plus as soon as they heard about it, others are more hesitant. Senior Mikaela Van Soelen hasn’t bought the subscription because she thinks she would be too busy to indulge, especially around the Christmas season. “Kudos to the people that have time for Disney Plus,” Van Soelen said. “I’m too busy being jolly.”

Lamfers enjoys the social opportunities that come with owning Disney Plus. “It’s a good way to get to know people,” she said, “because they hear I have it and then I can invite them over and get to know them,”

If you “just can’t wait to be king” and subscribe to “a whole new world” of movies, you can “go the distance” and buy the “bare necessities of life” on disneyplus.com.