Short answer: Disney+ is tied to the country you are in, and Disney has said that its subscriber agreement does not allow using a VPN to get around those limits. If Disney+ detects a region it does not serve, you can see an error such as code 73. We did not test any VPN with Disney+, and this page does not promise that any VPN will work.
Checked on October 5, 2026 against Disney’s help pages and a news report of Disney’s statement. Disney’s full subscriber agreement text was not available to our automated check, so no clause numbers are quoted here.
How Disney+ decides what you can watch
Streaming libraries differ from country to country because rights are sold by territory. Disney+ uses the location it detects for your connection to decide which catalogue to show and whether to serve you at all. Its help center has a page on where Disney+ is available, and a separate error 73 article for the message that says Disney+ is only available in certain regions.
What Disney has said about VPNs
When Disney+ launched in new markets, Disney told reporters that, in line with its subscriber agreement, it does not allow people to use a virtual private network to access the service in a territory where it is not yet live, as reported by a news item from the National University of Singapore. We could not read the agreement itself in our check, so treat this as Disney’s reported position rather than a quoted clause.
In practice that means two risks: the connection can be refused, and a service that forbids VPN use for this purpose can act against an account. We have not seen published figures for how often accounts are actioned, so we do not claim a rate.
What to do if you see error 73
- Check that Disney+ is available in the country you are really in, using the availability page in the help center.
- If you have a VPN or proxy running, turn it off and try again.
- Check that your device’s date, time and location settings are correct.
- If you believe the message is wrong, contact Disney+ support from the help center.
Watching while you travel
If you travel, expect the catalogue of the country you are in. That is how Disney+ is licensed, and it is not a fault with your account. A VPN does not change what is licensed in a given country; it changes what location the service believes you have, which is the thing Disney says it does not permit for bypassing limits.
If you use a VPN for privacy anyway
Many people use a VPN on public Wi-Fi for reasons unrelated to streaming. If Disney+ blocks that connection, the simplest fix is to turn the VPN off for the Disney+ app, using split tunneling if your VPN offers it. Our guide to VPN blocks and detection explains why services block VPN addresses and what the limits are, and our VPN comparison lists providers and the sources behind our claims.
The same logic applies to other services. See Prime Video and VPNs and our Netflix guide.
Downloads before you travel
Disney’s help center says that while you are abroad you can stream the titles available in the country or region you are in, and that you may see an error on a title or a live event that is not available there. It suggests downloading titles to your device before you travel so you can watch them offline. That is the supported way to take a specific show with you.
If Disney+ is not available where you live
Check the availability page in the help center. If your country is not on it, the error 73 message is expected and no setting on your account will change it. The service has to launch in your territory; watching for an official announcement is the only reliable route.
Frequently asked questions
Will a VPN get my Disney+ account banned?
We found no published statistics. Disney’s reported position is that using a VPN to get around territory limits is not allowed, so the risk is real even if we cannot size it.
Is using a VPN illegal?
A VPN is legal in many countries. Breaking a service’s terms is a contract issue between you and the service, not usually a crime, but laws differ by country.
Why does Disney+ show a different catalogue abroad?
Because content rights are sold country by country, which determines what each region can stream.