How to get Disney Plus on Apple TV

Agreed. All I get is this error message when trying to airplay to an Apple TV 3. Tried on two different iPhones and two different Apple TV 3s and TVs.

My other apps airplay just fine. It seems pretty dumb since my Chromecast will cast just fine from the app.

Unfortunately you were told wrong , Disney + is an app that must be installed on the Apple TV. Only Apple TV 4th and 5th generations have the ability to install apps. Apple TV 3rd generations do not have an app store to download apps, therefore no ability to download the Disney + app.

I too have a 3rd Gen and was under the impression when I signed up for Disney+ several months ago it would work on the 3rd Gen. not the case , I just spoke with Apple support and Disney+ is only available on 4th Gen or newer.

Fair enough and I understand, please enjoy Disney + on your Apple TV 4K.

I have a similar configuration as yours, 4 Apple TVs but only 1 is a 4K, the others are 3rd generation devices. If you want to consider upgrading one (or more) of the 3rd generations, the 4K and HD models show up from time to time on Apple's refurbished store.

I downloaded the DisneyPlus app on my iPhone XS Max and then used Airplay to connect to my 3rd Gen AppleTV. worked like a charm. Phone connected to my router via WiFi, Apple TV connected to router via Ethernet cable. It was quick and seamless and no hiccups, the quality was great (both sound and vid). Granted, this was at 5:00AM this morning and no other network traffic at my place, but even when everyone is home I've done this in the past (with other services) and it works without issue, if maybe a slight lag to start the show to buffer a bit.

I was able to play from my iPhone to my AppleTv 3rd Gen. today. However, I would rather be able just to click on the app on my apple tv like Disney said would be possible with the 3rd Gen when we purchased in June.

I had feared this would only work on 4th generation or later, but I did an extensive Google search many times months before Disney+ released and there was never any mention in any search result that said you would need a 4th generation Apple TV or later. Every site said Apple TV, and that was it.

Thanks for the confirmation from Apple support. I've had the 2nd gen Apple TV for years. I don't see any reason to upgrade my Apple TV when I can put that money towards a Smart TV. Apple has updated and added apps and features to my Apple TV plenty of times (including this past week). I'm not sure why they won't just add Disney + as well.

True, the Disney+ will not be installed on 3rd gen Apple TV but you can work around the issue. I downloaded the Disney+ app on my IPhone and IPad. Then I just used Air play to stream the video through my Apple TV. Works perfectly.

You will not get the app on the Apple TV 3rd gen. The work around is by using an IPhone or IPad. On your IPhone or IPad download the Disney plus app and login in. Once logged in select a video to watch and play it on your iPhone or iPad. Once the video starts playing there will be an Apple Air Play button on the video window. Select the Apple Air button and a list of near by devices will pop up, select Apply TV. After you select the Apple TV under Air Play the video will begin to play from the device to the tv. Does that information help or would you like picture on how to perform this?

What I don’t understand when you say that only gen 4 & 5 allows apps is that the Apple TV app was added to my gen 3 when there was a software update. This seems more like Apple just doesn’t care to add the Disney+ app then it not being capable of adding it.

First of all, your response was rude and unappreciated. Several other people had tried same information but managed to be polite in their response. You literally took the time to log in and then probably took a few minutes to respond, so like 5 minutes out of your life to try and cut someone down 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

So to answer the original question...The app has not downloaded on Apple TV 3, but you can install the app on your iPhone and stream it to your tv:)

I’m extremely disappointed about this. I have an Apple TV 4K on my living room but I also have three others 3rd gen in each bedroom that are basically useless with Disney+. Why am I upset? I paid $150 retail price for each of those 3rd gen Apple TVs when a Roku was half the price and still able to run Disney+. What makes me more upset is that these “obsolete” Apple TVs can run Apple’s new streaming service but not the competition. #Fail

Yeah, I can’t get Disney plus on my 3rd gen.

I’m considering picking up an Amazon fire stick for $30 rather than upgrading my Apple TV or having to do AirPlay every time. Much cheaper solution than a 4th or 5th gen.

exactly, Disney would have to lean on Apple to get them to send out a revision for the 3rd Gen's after one of those companies built and interface (they are not really Apps as we know them within the App Store) using the old programming code. The Amazon Prime interface was released in 2017 and that is the last update that has happened for the 3rd gen's until Apple just released the Apple TV+....which does not work the same as it does on the 4th and 5th Gen's because its different code...because its not a APP in the sense that this all keeps getting talked about here.