A couple of years ago, Disney+ began trialling a Playlists feature in the US (called “streams” there). There it was limited to just a small handful of rotating themes. You chose one and it simply played like a linear channel with no real control.

The global version has been significantly expanded and somewhat enhanced.

Firstly, there are far more options to choose from. These include shows, genres, characters and even just general show types. The playlists available at launch are:

* The Simpsons
* Modern Family
* Adult Animation
* Comedy
* True Crime
* Romantic Comedies
* Bob’s Burgers
* Comedy Movies
* Anime
* Family Guy
* Action and Adventure Movies
* Crime
* Drama
* Documentary
* Horror
* Reality
* Bluey
* Disney+ Playtime
* Made in Korea
* Mickey and Friends
* Thrillers
* Sports Documentaries
* Music
* Musicals
* Music Videos
* Pixar Movies
* Princess Movies
* Romance
* Sci-Fi Movies
* Spidey and Iron Man
* Stand-Up Comedy
* Walt Disney Animation Studios Movies
* Cars (Pixar)

A further enhancement for this global rollout is that viewers have the option to restart an in-progress film or show and are even able to skip to the next item in the “queue”. When choosing to skip you get a little window preview of what you’ll be jumping forward to, so you can easily keep jumping until something catches your eye. Of course, the main benefit of this new feature is that you can take the fuss out of choosing and revert to a more old school, linear experience. These streams are ad-free by design and thus can apparently only be used by those on an ad-free plan.

The rollout is ongoing. Some devices will lag behind others. TVs seem to be getting the feature first. You’ll find the extensive row of playlists on the 7th row of the homepage (at least as of launch day). Thankfully, the row stands out due to unique formatting and intentionally oversized thumbnails.

I know, this place has been abandoned for literally years and the majority of people have probably given up coming here. But in my opinion, Disney+ has quietly become one of the better value streaming services in the UK since this place became a ghost town.

Not only did Hulu become an official brand but Disney have gone all-in on acquiring big name, 3rd-party acquisitions for it. Then we have the launch of ESPN. Once again, all part of a standard subscription. Sure, it doesn’t exactly house A-list sports right now (with the exception of the Women’s Champions League, perhaps) but Disney are holding true to their word by continuously announcing major new agreements. Formula e is their latest sports pick up and that is a legitimately surging sport.

The point is, Disney+ UK is reopening right at a time when the potential for discussion and news sharing is substantial and exciting. So let’s shake off the rust and bring this place back to life.