Rejecting Modernity: Disney, and it's Quest to Go off the Deep End
Disney is an interesting company to talk about when it comes to cutting off support to them... mostly because there are in fact, too many reasons to stop supporting Disney. You have..
- the fact that Disney+ is an glorified overpriced Netflix with extra steps and I say overpriced, because holy moly, $19 dollars for the ad-free version..
- the fact they shut down a lot of channels across the globe all because of said switch over to Disney+, so much that as of today, Disney XD only exists in two countries, Poland and the US (there are so many that infact, there's an entire YT video about it.)
- the cancellation of many shows, price hikes both related to their theme parks and their streaming services...
But where it really hurts is what they might be planning from 2026 onwards, if OpenAI continues to exist post-March. Disney has gone off the deepest end and has chose to donate 1 billion dollars to OpenAI, which has officially killed any chance for good animators to step up to the plate. This is bad on it's own, but can be made even worse if you read this next statement out loud.
It's also been revealed that starting from 2026 onwards, Disney will now allow people to use generative AI prompts to, supposedly, fabricate Disney-allowed SoraAI videos, using actual Disney characters, from the palms of everyone's hands. And assuming this evolves into movies, this means that Disney now could do absolutely nothing and still get films produced, albeit with AI. which again, officially kills off any chance for good animators to step up to the plate.
And while the CEO of Disney may be swapping hands, I don't trust what the new CEO will do to this poor company, or whether they'll be able to recover from the monumental loss that's about to occur to them when the bubble bursts and Disney's stocks hit rock bottom. However, from witnessing OpenAI's fall, there might not be any hope left for Disney.. which is a shame, because this company, despite being the usual corporation, corporate greed included.. at least they had something, before they willingly gave it all to AI.
So, for these exact reasons, it's time for me, the writer of Rejecting Modernity to guide you on my personal way to cut off support for Disney.
Cut your subscription out. Prohibit online usage.
Disney+'s price have been going on a bit of an adventure, an uphill battle if you will.. and by that, I mean, it's been taking a hike... a very uphill hike. Like I said, Disney+ currently costs around $19. But much like other subscription services and their prices, it tends to start moving when you don't look at it.. and for Disney+, this is especially the case. Assuming this price hike continues, it is genuinely going to get to the point where you'll need to get a mortgage just to own Disney+ for another month or even year.
..However, Disney+ is also one of the many pillars of Disney that print them the most money, so if we can at the very least stagger that, they'll steadily begin losing profits monumentally.
You probably already have done this since the whole AI deal announcement, but in case you haven't: I recommend unsubscribing from Disney+ or any other Disney related subscription. I'd also suggest you do this ASAP, as much like Discord, influxes of subscription cancellations will clog the system, and they might even prohibit you from doing so (especially when there are multiple cases of them actually doing so), but push through and you'll eventually be able to unsubscribe from the subscription. Once you done that, you may wipe your hands clean and delete your Disney+ account and app. Doing this willl do your financial situation, your wallet, and your future savings account a favor.
However, if you feel that cancelling your Disney+ subscription (and other Disney-related accounts) are not enough for you, and these apps and websites using telemetry bother your privacy enough to make your hairs stand up, and your inner open-source nerd squirm in your boots, you may also restrict yourself from accessign any Disney website, deleting all Disney-related apps from your phone or PC, and doing the same for any Smart TVs you own.
If you still really want shows that you can only find on Disney+, by this point, you've probably have already found methods of sailing the seven seas that you may rely on in order to get true access to the shows you love. While I can't tell you how to do it, I don't need to, for you already have mastered this art. If you want a tip however, there are a lot more places out there that can get you to your goal without having to put in the effort of digging around, so continue to search around. You'll find your ticket eventually.
Cut the TV out.
You might be thinking, "This might sound like a needless thing to do, Disney makes more money from streaming than TV", but you have to also remember, not only cable TV is still relevant, and is still a major part of Disney's catalog, but that they still make millions to billions of dollars from it, and while that might not seem as much from the monumental success of Disney+,
I'd reccomend you to discontinue watching ABC, FX, FOX, ESPN or other Disney-owned channels.
If you still must use your TV, watch other content like NY1 if you live in the New York area, for example, and if you need to use your TV normally and don't want to touch your cable box in the chance you accidentally trip into a Disney-owned channel, hook your computer, your tablet, anything that supports an environment and use Stremio, something we'll talk about more in a future installment, just know that it's basically an open source streaming service.
However, if you really must watch these TV channels, do it with the moderation that you support the the animators and the hard working members of society behind the channel, not the company behind it.
Once again, if you still want shows from that general bubble, you have the knowledge and the know how to get the shows without having to spend a pretty little dime on it. Again, I can't tell you, but I do not need. For a fun fact that I've just recently learned, you can actually use your VR headset with Stremio, as Stremio is an Android app, meaning you could watch shows on your VR headset as well!
Cut your trips out.
Cruises and theme parks are one of their main sources of money, and as long as we can stagger that source of money, they should begin losing profits by the shovelful.
For theme park junkies who go on their yearly excursion to go to a Disney theme park, here's my two cents.. do not go to any Disney theme parks or cruises, but go somewhere else instead. If you have any scheduled park visits that you were planning to go towards, cancel them. Unbook any flights to a nearby Disney theme park as well, while we're here, if you have any planned. I also suggest telling your family why this is the case and why you think heading somewhere else is the better option.
This is due to the same thing Disney+ is suffering to.. price hikes monumental enough to make even the richest families groan.
If you happen to one of the weirder Disney fans to also own that one subscription service made specifically for parks which basically acts like a more advanced Fastpass (for a refresher on that situation, I suggest watching this entire video made by Defunctland which is pretty popular by the way despite being years outdated) which has officially proven to be entirely useless in the long run and too complicated to master, I'd also suggest canceling that as well.
Now, some of you might already saying "well I'll already be cancelling my planned theme park visit, seeing how someone who wants to go to any theme parks or cruises owned by Disney have to be outright rich to even consider it", and good for you, you've made a very smart business decision, but for those who have the money and want to consider it.. don't even bother! Save that money! Buy something else instead that's worthwhile.
Cut your games out.
For the gamers, here's a friendly piece of advice: try to avoid buying any modern Disney games that were either released post-2023 or games that have recently came out from Disney. Yes, unfortunately for our gamers, if you wanna cut support out for Disney, you're gonna have to cut that planned library of games that you wanted to get.
And yes, before you even ask, this includes Kingdom Hearts and other Square Enix-Disney co-owned games, as Square Enix itself is also not safe in this ordeal. The reason why? I've already said this in the previous bit before but to speed the explanation up, the company was hit with back to back layoffs, most of their releases, despite being substantial, were either remakes, remasters or ports, and said ports didn't sell well, they seperated again, most of their workforce is planned to become AI post-2027, and they've failed multiple NFT projects. I do not trust they'll come back from this blowback, and I don't want to risk it.
The more we can hurt these pillars of their company, the more they'll learn to not mess with the general audience and actually start listening. The gaming side tends to be just as popular as the video streaming and theme park side, so as long as you no longer interact with modern Disney games, you should be all good.
If you STILL wanna play them, like I've said before, do not buy them. Instead, use the piracy methods you've learned from the other 2 points to do so. For one more tip, a lot of the games that I've mentioned here can be found in a lot of more.. popular places. I won't link them here, as it'd be illegal, however, you are bound to end up finding a very common breeding ground for stuff like this, so keep an eye out.