How to Download Disney Plus on Vizio Smart TV

Evan Gower November 19, 2019

Disney has long been wanting to throw their hat into the subscription streaming ring, and with the new Disney+ service, they’re finally there. This subscription service is made exclusively for Disney’s content, but the restricted content offering is offset by approachable costs.

How to Download Disney Plus on Vizio Smart TV

The service works like most other channels on streaming devices, so Vizio owners who subscribed are eager to start watching. In this article, you’ll learn about watching Disney on Vizio TVs and what the future will bring for this streaming platform.

Updated on November 19th to include a statement from VIZIO.

Disney+ On VIZIO Smart TV

If you’re the proud owner of a VIZIO TV, you’ll need to strap in for some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the latter: as of November 19th, 2019, VIZIO televisions are unable to play Disney+ in most cases. There’s no dedicated app for VIZIO televisions, unlike the app Disney created for Samsung and LG TVs, so on that front, you’re out of luck.

But wait, you might be saying. VIZIO televisions have Chromecast support built right into the device, and Disney+ supports Chromecast! Surely you can just cast from your phone, tablet, or Chrome browser right to your television to catch up on your favorite seasons of The Simpsons? Well, if you were a new Disney+ subscriber trying to cast to your television on launch day, you’ve probably already learned the hard truth surrounding your VIZIO TV: for whatever reason, Disney+ is unable to cast from your phone to your television. This isn’t an unknown bug or a connection issue on your end: VIZIO has made it abundantly clear to their owners that, as of right now, you’re out of luck for casting for the time being.

So, What’s The Good News?

Well, if you have any iOS device, you can use AirPlay on your VIZIO TV to watch Disney+ right now. While Chromecast support was broken on launch day, AirPlay support worked perfectly, allowing anyone with an iPhone or an iPad to watch The Mandalorian the day it came out. Unfortunately for Android users or anyone who doesn’t have an iOS device in the family, AirPlay support won’t do you much good at all.

Of course, the good news doesn’t stop there. On November 19th, a week after the official launch of Disney+, VIZIO issued a press release announcing that an update to their built-in Chromecast support would roll out to all supported VIZIO televisions in early December, about a month after the release of Disney Plus. While it would have been nice to have Disney+ support ready to go for VIZIO television on day one—especially considering how popular Disney+ has proved to be in the first week of its release—it’s nice to see that VIZIO has taken a “better late than never” approach with supporting the newest, hottest streaming service.

What Are The Alternatives?

As it turns out, Disney has secured streaming deals with just about every other streaming service, platform, and manufacturer. LG TVs, as well as consoles, Apple and Android devices and of course computers, are all valid alternatives to watch Disney+.

Is That Really It?

Not exactly, there is a way that some users find works for them but it hasn’t been addressed by VIZIO or Google as a valid workaround. It’s not going to put any of your systems in jeopardy and it might not work for you but it’s worth a try.

It involves Chromecasting from your laptop or PC to your VIZIO TV. And you’re probably thinking to yourself that earlier in the article this was addressed, but you’re not going to cast directly from the Disney+ app.

Open the Google Chrome application on your computer and click on the hamburger icon in the top right corner to display the menu. In that menu, you’ll find a “Cast” option, click it and you should see all the devices that are available for casting. Instead of selecting a device directly, click on the drop-down menu labeled “Sources” and select “Cast Desktop.”

Once you select desktop, you’ll be shown another menu where you will see the desktops that are available for casting. If you’re only using one monitor, it will only display the one desktop. In any case, select the one you want to display on your TV and “Accept.” Then, in the device selection menu, with the desktop casting selected, choose the device you want to cast to. In this case, it will be your VIZIO TV.

If it works correctly, you will now have your computer screen mirrored on your TV.

Now all you have to do is log into your Disney+ account from the Chrome browser and play your shows. It’s technically playing on your computer, but since you have screen mirroring it will also play on the TV.

Disney Plus VIZIO Equals Entertainment

If you’re the proud owner of a VIZIO TV and you’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of the Disney + service, you’re probably not too happy right now. Still, with just a couple of weeks to go until Disney+ support comes to VIZIO televisions, we think it’ll be well worth the wait in the end.

And of course, until then, there is an ostensible workaround in the form of screen mirroring from a laptop or PC. All you have to do is mirror your desktop onto your VIZIO TV using Google’s Chromecast from their browser. Make sure you select the desktop as the source rather than casting directly to the device from the browser.