Disney+: Why Fans Are Lining Up to Pay $140 for 3-Year Subscriptions

A lot can happen in three years. I mean, seriously, think back to where you were in August 2016 compared to right now. Uh… a lot has gone down since then! The choices you made then, maybe they wouldn’t be the same right now. And in the world of streaming service subscriptions (I swear, this is going some place!), you’re never asked to think about more than one month or one year at a time.

Ever the disruptor, Disney is shaking up that subscription method at the D23 convention by asking die-hard fans to drop the dollars for three whole years of Disney+ almost three months before the service even launches. And if that sounds surprising, maybe you’ll be even more surprised to know that people. are. into. it! And I know, because I saw it all firsthand while on the show floor at D23.

Here’s what the deal looks like: people sign up for a three-year subscription at one of two dozen kiosks lining the front of the Disney+ exhibitor booth on the show floor. The incentive to sign up for a platform that isn’t public yet yet is pretty straightforward: it’s a bargain.

When Disney+ launches on November 12, a yearly subscription will cost $69.99. For those signing up at D23, though, that three-year deal comes out to $140.97–or just $46.99 a year. That’s a 33% savings, and a lot of people can’t resist. While there aren’t actual figures for how many people signed up (they’re still signing up, as D23 runs through Sunday), there was a constant stream of people at the kiosks every time I walked by the booth, and sometimes there were even crowds.

So what makes people want to sign a three-year commitment to something they’ve only seen demonstrated (note that the Disney+ booth had demos of the platform going nonstop either in a side room or on the main stage)? I had to find out, so I talked to some excited new subscribers right after they dropped $140 for that Disney magic.

For some, it was the Disney+ Showcase panel that really pushed them over the edge. That was the case for friends Jennifer and Francesca, who probably didn’t come to D23 expecting to spend a combined $280 on a new streamer. “We went to the panel yesterday, said Jennifer. “I mean, for me, I grew up with Lizzie McGuire and hearing that there’s a new Lizzie McGuire series? It’s like, whoah!” Jennifer said she was going to get Disney+ either way, but that announcement plus the deal sealed it.

Francesa, less of a Disney fan than Jennifer, planned on being a fair weather subscriber. “I initially thought I’d just pay for it the months that stuff I wanted was going to come out, but I did go to the panel yesterday and it dawned on me that they’re going to have all the Disney stuff from all the way in the beginning to now in one place and I can get it at anytime. So if I don’t do it now, it’s going to be more money later.”

The deal and the new shows (the Star Wars and Marvel content really have people hyped) were cited by people many times, but it was the family element that really surprised and delighted me.

“My sister just had my baby niece,” said Ruby, wearing a great retro style Avengers dress that she made herself. “[My niece] is one, so by the time she’s two, three, four, five, she’s going to be watching all the Disney movies, all the Marvel movies of course–I’m going to train her young. It’s just a great thing for the whole family. We all have something that we love.” Ruby’s also excited for the live-action Lady and the Tramp.

Ryan said a similar thing, saying he signed up for his girlfriend. He then said something that I know the competitors aren’t going to like: “I think she’s going to switch. She has Netflix now and is going to switch over to Disney+.”

That sentiment was echoed by Victor, who also called out the current king of streaming. “[Disney+ has] got a good offer. It’s less than $4 a month. You can’t get that at Netflix.”

You can’t get that at Netflix. The streaming wars are about to heat up, and it looks like Disney+ just spent a weekend amassing an army.