Closed captions are built into Disney Plus and turn on through your account settings or your device's accessibility menu

Disney Plus offers closed captions (also called subtitles) for most of its content. You can turn them on in two ways: through your Disney Plus account settings, which applies captions to everything you watch, or through your device's playback controls, which lets you turn captions on and off for individual shows or movies. The method depends on which device you are using and whether you want captions on permanently or just sometimes.

Captions are available in English and other languages depending on the title. Not every show or movie has captions in every language, but the vast majority of Disney Plus content includes at least English captions. If you do not see a caption option for a specific title, that content may not have captions available yet.

Key Takeaways

  • You can turn on captions through your Disney Plus account settings (applies to all content) or through the playback menu on individual titles (applies only to that show or movie).
  • On phones, tablets, and computers, look for the speech bubble or CC icon during playback to access caption options.
  • On smart TVs and streaming devices, the caption button is usually in the playback controls at the bottom of the screen.
  • Most Disney Plus titles include English captions, but availability varies by language and by title.
  • If captions do not appear for a specific show, try pausing and resuming playback, or sign out and back into your account.

Turning on captions through account settings

If you want captions on by default for everything you watch, you can set this in your Disney Plus account. On a computer or phone, go to your profile icon in the top right corner, select Account, then scroll down to Playback Settings. Look for the Captions option and choose your preferred language or style. Once you save this setting, captions will appear automatically on all titles you watch on any device signed into that account.

This setting applies across all your devices — phone, tablet, computer, and smart TV — as long as you are signed into the same Disney Plus account. If you share your account with family members and some prefer captions while others do not, each person can create their own profile within the account and set different caption preferences for each profile.

Turning on captions during playback

You can also turn captions on or off while you are watching without changing your account settings. Start playing any show or movie, then look for the caption icon during playback. On phones and tablets, this is usually a speech bubble or CC symbol in the upper right corner of the screen. On computers, it appears in the playback bar at the bottom. On smart TVs and streaming devices like Roku or Apple TV, the caption button is in the playback controls that appear when you move your remote.

Tap or click the caption icon to open the menu. You will see a list of available languages and caption styles. Select the one you want, or choose Off to hide captions. Your choice applies only to that title — when you start watching something else, the captions will follow whatever your account default is set to.

Captions on different devices

On phones and tablets: Open the Disney Plus app, start playing a title, and tap the screen to reveal the playback controls. Look for the speech bubble or CC icon in the top right corner. Tap it to see caption options.

On computers: Play a title in your web browser. Hover your mouse over the video to reveal the playback bar at the bottom. The caption icon is usually on the right side of the bar, next to the volume control. Click it to choose a language or turn captions off.

On smart TVs and streaming devices: Start playing a title and press a button on your remote to reveal the playback menu (this varies by device — it might be the menu button, the down arrow, or the select button). Look for a CC or caption icon in the menu. Use your remote to navigate to it and select your caption preference.

On gaming consoles: If you are using Disney Plus on a PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch, the process is similar to smart TVs. Start playback, press the menu button on your controller, and look for caption options in the playback menu.

What to do if captions are not showing

If you have turned on captions but they are not appearing, first check that the title actually has captions available. Some older content or certain international titles may not have captions in your selected language. Try switching to English captions to see if that works.

If English captions are available but still not showing, try pausing the video and resuming it. Sometimes captions load a few seconds after playback starts. If that does not work, sign out of your Disney Plus account completely, close the app or browser, and sign back in. This refreshes your connection and often fixes caption display problems.

If captions still do not appear after these steps, the title may genuinely not have captions available yet. Disney Plus adds captions to content over time, so a title without captions now may have them in the future.

Caption styles and languages

Disney Plus offers captions in multiple languages on most titles, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and others depending on the content. When you open the caption menu, you will see all available languages listed. Select the one you want to watch in.

Some titles also offer different caption styles — for example, standard captions or captions that include descriptions of sounds and music for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. If your title offers this option, you will see it labeled as English (CC) or English (SDH) — SDH stands for Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Choose whichever style works best for you.

Captions on downloaded content

If you read a show or movie from Disney Plus to watch offline, captions are included in the read if they are available for that title. When you play a downloaded title, the caption controls work the same way as they do for streaming content — tap or click the caption icon during playback to turn captions on or off.

Downloaded content respects your account caption settings, so if you have captions turned on by default in your account, they will appear automatically on downloaded titles too. You can still turn them off for individual downloads without changing your account settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do some Disney Plus titles not have captions?

Disney Plus is still adding captions to older content and some international titles. If a show or movie does not have captions now, it may get them later. You can check back periodically to see if captions have been added.

Can I change the size or color of captions?

Disney Plus does not offer built-in options to resize or recolor captions. However, your device may have accessibility settings that let you adjust caption appearance. On most phones and computers, you can go to your device's accessibility settings and change caption size, font, and background color, and these changes will explore to Disney Plus and other apps.

Do captions work on all Disney Plus plans?

Yes. Captions are available on all Disney Plus subscription tiers — Basic, Standard, and Premium. There is no plan that excludes captions.

Can I use captions in a language different from the show's original language?

Yes. If a title has captions available in multiple languages, you can choose any of them regardless of what language the show is being spoken in. For example, you can watch a show in Spanish with English captions.

What if my device does not show a caption button?

Make sure you are actively playing a title — the playback controls only appear while a video is running. If the button still does not appear, try updating your Disney Plus app or refreshing your browser. If your device is very old, it may not support captions through the Disney Plus app, though you can usually access captions through your device's own accessibility settings.