‘Hey Disney’ Brings Mickey and Crew to Your Amazon Echo – CNET [CNET]

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You can subscribe to the new voice assistant for $6 a year.

Zachary McAuliffe Staff writer

Zach began writing for CNET in November, 2021 after writing for a broadcast news station in his hometown, Cincinnati, for five years. You can usually find him reading and drinking coffee or watching a TV series with his wife and their dog.

Expertise Web hosting, operating systems, applications and software Credentials

• Apple software beta tester, “Helps make our computers and phones work!” – Zach’s grandparents

On Thursday, Amazon and Disney launched a new voice assistant in the US called Hey Disney! that brings Disney games, stories and more to most Echo devices. You can subscribe to the voice assistant for $6 a year, but it’s also included in your Amazon Plus Kids subscription.

To subscribe and set up the voice assistant, you can say, “Hey Alexa, introduce me to Hey Disney.” Once the voice assistant is enabled, characters like Mickey Mouse, C-3PO and others can give you the weather, set timers and more on your device. You can also play games with, and hear stories from, different Disney characters.

Another unique Hey Disney feature, which CNET demoed at CES 2023, is Soundscapes. These combine ambient music and sound effects to make it feel like you’re in a Disney-themed location, such as sitting on the forest moon Endor from Star Wars or walking about the Magic Kingdom. 

The new voice assistant doesn’t replace Alexa, but operates as its own voice assistant. So if Hey Disney can’t give you an answer, Alexa can still help out.

Hey Disney works on most Echo devices, but it won’t work on Echo Show 15, the first-generation Amazon Echo, Echo Auto, Fire Tablets, Fire TV and Echo on-the-go devices.

Amazon and Disney’s launch of Hey Disney comes as anticipation builds for Amazon Prime Day 2023. While Prime Day’s exact date is still unknown, we suspect it will be on July 11 and 12.

Watch this: ‘Hey Disney’ Comes to Amazon Echo Devices

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