8 Things That Will Transport You to Your Disney Channel Childhood
Updated: May 2, 2023
All of a sudden it’s 2006 and you’re about to witness High School Musical change the DCOM world forever.
There’s nothing more nostalgic than old Disney Channel shows and movies. If you’re like us, you probably watch your comfort DCOM at least once a week. And, let’s be honest, early ‘00s Disney Channel just hit different. There was something about the familiar shows and stars that made it feel like a tight-knit community—so, yes, we really all did have the same Disney Channel childhood.
If you’re ready to be transported back to kicking your entire family out of the living room to bop to the High School Musical Sing Along, then these are eight things that will make you feel like a Disney Channel kid again.
1. DisneyChannel.com
In between bouts of Club Penguin and Webkinz, DisneyChannel.com was where it was at. This site had THE best games on the internet. Sandwich Stacker? Zach & Cody’s Tipton Trouble? Come on, we all spent hours on this site—that’s probably why our parents’ computers always sounded like an airplane taking off.
We recently found out that you can play the old-school Disney Channel games on a new website, so you’re welcome for that info.
2. Disney Channel Crossover Episodes
That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana was a cultural reset. Sure, tons of cartoons and popular ‘90s shows had done it before, but who cares about that when you can have Raven Baxter, Zach and Cody Martin, and Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart all in the Tipton Hotel. Are you kidding? That’s a dream.
Disney had some other great crossover episodes that can’t be looked over too, like in Lilo & Stitch: The Series and Wizards of Waverly Place. There’s just something about knowing that your favorite characters are “meeting” that makes an episode extra special.
3. “Let’s Watch a Disney Channel Movie” Intro
This intro meant business. It meant you had five seconds to get your annoying brother to stop yelling, your mom to get the popcorn ready, and wake your dad up because the movie was starting! Even listening to it again now sends a burst of serotonin straight to my brain. I’m starting a petition to have Disney play this every time you open the Disney+ app.
4. Disney 365
Did anyone else remember how many days were in a year solely because they would recite “Disney 3-6-5” in their heads? No, only me? It really was just a constant ad to visit a Disney Resort, which as an 8-year-old I obviously had no say over, but sometimes there was some good content. Plus, when you couldn’t convince your parents to take you on a Disney vacation, it really let you live vicariously through the Disney Channel stars that were there.
5. “Send It On”
This “save the planet” song is quite literally ingrained into my memory. I’m not really sure why Disney thought they could pull off a “We are the World”-style song, but at that time if they slapped the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez’s face on anything, we were eating it up.
The song was for a good cause because all proceeds went to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, but that was the time when we were all getting free music from Coke bottles and maybe-not-so-legally downloading songs from the internet, so…
6. The Disney Channel Games
Honestly, inject the energy of The Disney Channel Games directly into my bloodstream. It’s truly no wonder I love Survivor and The Challenge because we grew up watching our favorite Disney Channel stars compete head-to-head.
Speaking of, hey Disney, please put seasons 2 and 3 on Disney+!
7. Disney Channel’s New Years Eve Countdown
Do I believe that Disney Channel actually rang in the New Year with us children at midnight? No. Would I have even made it to midnight to find out? Also no. But did I think that Disney Channel trapped all the stars in one room to film a live New Year’s Eve party JUST for us viewers? Absolutely I did.
And I will continue thinking that because that’s the magic of Disney. Let’s do it again next year, Suite Life cast!
8. Mike’s Super Short Show
When I was little, I really thought these two random kids were putting on a show in a basement and got to meet a bunch of Disney Channel stars. It wasn’t until later that I realized “Sally” is, in fact, Allyson Stoner and the whole thing was fake.
Either way, Mike’s Super Short Show was like our E! News — just, apparently, much less real. However, again, Mike’s Super Short Show was essentially just ads for Disney’s upcoming movie releases, so it turns out Disney’s marketing team is just really good at their jobs.