12 Disney+ Programs to Binge during the Holiday Season
You’re about to have a lot of free time.
Historically, movie theaters explode in popularity from December 20th through January 3rd.


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Alas, the pandemic prevents most of us from going to the movies this year. Instead, we’ll spend most of our time streaming from home.
So, your Disney+ subscription will save you over the next two weeks. Here are 12 Disney+ programs to watch over the holidays.


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12 Dates of Christmas
Hallmark Christmas movies have become a distinctive part of end-of-year culture, as the network releases like 50 titles annually.
However, you may not realize that Freeform entered the genre a long time ago.
Network executives noticed the ratings for holiday fare like The Santa Claus trilogy and leaned in with a 2011 romantic comedy.
At the time, nobody had figured out that you can cast literally anyone in these movies, and people will watch.
So, ABC Family (as it was known then) cast Amy Smart of Just Friends in the lead role, pairing her with Saved by the Bell’s Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
The story involves a Groundhog Day premise. Smart’s character is forced to re-live the same blind date and other shenanigans until she can make things right.


Photo: Variety
I know this sounds like a story you’ve watched a million times already, but I unabashedly adore this movie.
In fact, I bought it on Amazon Prime Video two days before it premiered on Disney+, making me feel like a complete idiot.
12 Dates of Christmas has had a permanent spot on my TiVo since 2011 – no joke – which tells you how terrific I think it is.
Cool Runnings
Over the holidays, you’ll watch plenty of movies that celebrate the season.
I’ve mentioned a few on this list, but I know you’ll find Miracle on 34th Street on your own.
So, I’m suggesting some holiday programming that may not spring to mind.


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For example, we didn’t get the promised Summer Olympics in 2020 because…2020.
Those of you in need of an Olympic fix should watch the charming John Candy movie, Cool Runnings.


Photo: Medium
In this story based on real events, Jamaican bobsledders live out their dream by becoming Olympic athletes…in a sport they’ve never played before.
A disgraced coach recognizes that Jamaica possesses the right to host a team at the Winter Olympics and puts together a group of misfits.


Photo: Digital Spy
Along the way, they go from neophytes into…slightly better neophytes in the sport of bobsledding. The whole story is like a warm hug.
Cool Runnings is one of the best sports movies from the 1990s. It’ll make you happy while you snuggle under a stack of blankets.


Photo: Entertainment Weekly
Disney Holiday Magic Quest
Due to the pandemic, Disney theme parks have operated with limited hours.
Some enterprising Disney Channel executives cleverly turned this negative into a positive by producing Disney Holiday Magic Quest.
On this program, stars from Disney’s popular Zombies franchise participate in a group quest to restore, well, magic at the parks.
Apparently, those jerks Maleficent and the Evil Queen have stolen it from Magic Kingdom. Only Zombies cast members can bring it back.
Imagine a combination of reality show challenges and a scavenger hunt, and you’ve got the right idea.
The setting is the real star, as filming took place after dark when Magic Kingdom is aglow with holiday decorations. That’s reason enough to watch.
Disney’s Prep & Landing
As I said, you’re going to watch plenty of holiday fare. You might as well lead with the best of it.
Disney’s Prep & Landing tells the story of the Prep & Landing crew, the elite elf team that readies homes for Santa’s arrival.
One of the members, Wayne, is bitter about losing a promotion and having to train a new employee, Lanny.
Over time, Wayne predictably rediscovers his love of his job thanks to Lanny and a small child who steals his heart.
Some of this may sound cynical or unimaginative, but Prep & Landing has become one of our family’s holiday traditions.
We have watched this episode and its sequel for a decade now.
By the way, I didn’t add it to this list, but Kim Possible’s Christmas episode, A Very Possible Christmas (2-13), is also in our annual rotation.
Frozen II
How long has this year been? Frozen II was only released in theaters 13 months ago!
In fact, Bob Chapek announced the surprise arrival of Frozen II on Disney+ only nine months ago! 2020 was like a dog year, wasn’t it?
Anyway, I’m sure you’ve watched Frozen II at least once, probably many times if you have children.
Still, you should take this opportunity to celebrate the season the right way. A trip to Arendelle should become a holiday tradition for all of us.
Plus, you can debate which is better between Frozen and Frozen II. The brilliance of Let It Go notwithstanding, I’m squarely in the Frozen II camp.
Godmothered
In classic fairytales, the fairy godmother always shows up at the perfect time to help the protagonist, usually a woman, save the day.
Well, that’s a pretty weird thing, right? How would you react if a stranger approached you and claimed to perform magic?


Image Credit: Disney
I’ve just described a restraining order scenario, and Sharon Maguire, the director of Bridget Jones’s Diary, appreciated that fact.
Maguire helmed this story, which shows Isla Fisher as a woman who could use a bit of luck.
A struggling would-be godmother, played by 22 Jump Street scene-stealer, Jillian Bell, tries to help. You can guess her assistance doesn’t always go well.


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Godmothered takes a similar approach to 2007’s Enchanted with its fractured fairytale set in the real world.
Currently 67 percent fresh at Rotten Tomatoes, this comedy will entertain the whole family.
Hidden Figures
Speaking of John Glenn, he famously trusted one mathematician at NASA more than the rest.
Her name was Katherine Goble Johnson, and Glenn wouldn’t fly until she signed off on the math.
For many years, history ignored Johnson’s contributions to the NASA program.
Then, in 2016, Margot Lee Shetterly published a book about some of these Hidden Figures.
Simultaneously, Fox produced a movie with the same premise after buying the book rights a year earlier.
The resulting film is legitimately one of the best of the past decade. I’ve watched it more than 10 times and am in awe of its quality.
Feel-good biographical dramas rarely work as well as Hidden Figures. It’s a beautiful reminder that Americans do great things when we work together.
Home Alone
Every day, I play Alexa’s question of the day, and a recent one involved Home Alone.


Credit: Freeform
The question asked where the McAllisters were going on vacation when they forgot Kevin. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know it.
That’s reason enough to re-watch Home Alone, right?
Back in 1990, the first Gulf War had stressed Americans. They needed an escape and chose this film.
Home Alone became such a blockbuster that it spawned multiple seconds and a slew of imitators, one of which, Blank Check, I mentioned last year.


Photo: 20th Century Studios Family
Still, there’s only one true holiday classic in the bunch. We all need that weird satisfaction that comes hearing “ya filthy animals!” during Christmas break.
Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney+ has gradually added some theme park programming over the past year. While I wish there were more, I’m transfixed by this one.
Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom lifts the veil to display what happens behind the scenes to maintain the animal habitats.
During a recent episode, cast members prepped a pair of male hippos for their first encounter, desperately hoping that the smaller one would act submissive.
Meanwhile, a blind bamboo shark requires emergency veterinary care because she ate an almond. Please don’t drop food at Animal Kingdom, folks.
Finally, Grace, the park’s beloved baby gorilla, needs her mother’s and the vets’ help to develop her motor skills.
For fans of Animal Kingdom, this show is must-watch viewing, and you’ll have plenty of time to get caught up over the holidays.
You’ll also develop a more personal relationship with a few animals, some of whom you can visit at Animal Kingdom!


Photo: David Roark
The Right Stuff
Speaking of binge options, Disney surprised me from the start with its television adaptation of The Right Stuff.
John Glenn and Alan Shepard sit down for what seems like a friendly breakfast.
Over the course of one minute, we quickly learn that the gentlemen aren’t friends at all. In fact, one accuses the other of professional sabotage.
That conversation sets the tone for the season, which delves into the egos of the men who conquered the moon.
Disney has already renewed The Right Stuff for season two, and you can tear through the first season in less than six hours.
Back in the day, Walt Disney was passionate about the space race, and The Right Stuff will help you understand why.
Safety
Ray Ray McElrathbey became a media sensation in 2006 when everyone learned his story.
The Clemson running back learned that his mother had relapsed, leaving his 11-year-old brother with nowhere to stay.
So, the boy moved into Clemson’s dorm alongside his brother. I’m sure it broke 7,000 NCAA rules, but those jerks looked the other way for once.
Ray Ray and his brother appeared on Oprah and received charitable donations from people around the world.
Safety tells the story of everything they go through, and it’s probably the most inspiring movie of its kind since The Blind Side.
Remarkably, Safety debuted on Disney+ and is available to watch right now.
Soul
Speaking of which, Disney gave all its subscribers a special Christmas gift. We get to watch Soul on Disney+ starting on December 25th.
I haven’t unwrapped all my presents yet. Still, it’s hard to imagine getting any gifts that can match a Pixar movie.