Reliving Disney Channel in the 2000s

Who remembers Disney Channel?

Over the years, the Disney Channel has created over 50 + shows, cartoons and movies, some of which have helped make household names of Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Hilary Duff, the Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez and everybody’s favourite teen heartthrob, Zac Efron. 

Even Shia LaBeouf rose to Hollywood fame from Disney Channel! Who knew?!

From the catchy theme tunes to comedy gold, the Disney Channel provided quality entertainment for us all growing up.

As we were feeling nostalgic, we wanted to relive our childhoods with you all and take a look back at some of our favourite Disney Channel shows. Check them out:

Even Stevens (2000-2003)

As one of Disney Channel’s earliest original series, Even Stevens set the bar for the popular high school-set comedies that the TV channel loved in the 2000s. Even Stevens was one of those shows that was never afraid to go out all when it came to jokes. Shia LaBeouf (yes you read that right) played the lead immature prankster Louis Stevens, alongside Christy Carlson Romano who played his sister, Ren - who was always trying to ruin the fun. 

We haven’t watched Even Stevens in what feels like forever, so this is definitely being added to our rewatch list.

That’s So Raven (2003-2007)

If you could gaze into the future, what would you want to see? 

That’s So Raven has got to be one of our favourite shows to ever come out of Disney Channel. Raven Baxter, played hilariously by Raven Symone was just a typical teenager who just happened to be a psychic. The show focused on Raven’s visions and the misadventures Raven and her friends, Chelsea and Eddie experienced which often led to them jumping to the wrong conclusions.

That’s So Raven was hilarious and entertaining and will always remain one of the best sitcoms to air on Disney Channel. It was the first one of its kind and is responsible for many records for Disney Channel.

Hannah Montana (2006-2011)

She had the best of both worlds and we absolutely loved her!

Who knew that a TV show with such a simple story-line as ‘A young girl living a double life as a mega famous popstar’ would become such a successful hit and make such a huge impact on kids growing up in the 2000s. We never fail to get a laugh out of this cracker of a show, even as adults. 

Miley Cyrus shot to fame on Disney Channel playing Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana and lived the life as Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus for 5 years before entering her ‘can’t be tamed’ phase. Rewatching Hannah Montana has reminded us that Miley has always had  edge, even as a youngster.

The cast was amazing, the story-lines had us wanting more (even if they were a little ridiculous and OTT at times) and the dialogue is still funny to this day. SWEET NIBLETS!

Oh and don’t get us started on the soundtrack!

Hannah Montana was more than just a TV show. When it ended I think we can speak on behalf of a lot of people who grew up in the 2000s, that as viewers we felt like we had lost our friends. 

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (2005-2008)

Hands up if you wanted to live in a hotel like Zack and Cody???

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody has got to be one of most iconic tv shows to come out of Disney Channel. Watching Dylan and Cole Sprouse cause havoc for Mr Moesby (the hotel manager) sparked so much joy and envy because we grew up wanting to live the dream like Zack and Cody! This show was hilarious and is definitely one of those shows that you could rewatch now, years later and still find yourself belly laughing at some of the nonsense the twins got up to.The twins caused all sorts of trouble and mischief whilst living in the building but it looked so much fun (sometimes!).

Dylan and Cole Sprouse starred alongside Ashley Tisdale and Brenda Song and look at them now! Cole stars in hit TV show, Riverdale and Ashley Tisdale shot to fame being her fabulous alter ego Sharpay Evans in the one and only High School Musical. What a legend!

Lizzie Mcguire (2001-2004)

If you were lucky enough to have Disney Channel on your Virgin/Sky box growing up, then no doubt you spent your afternoons (like us) watching Lizzie and her BFFs Miranda and Gordo navigate through the trials and tribulations of being in middle school (for us Brits - secondary school).

Lizzie McGuire was just one of those shows that provided us with all the good vibes. As viewers, we instantly fell in love with Hilary Duff’s awkward but self-assured character who provided a relatable voice for every kid, tween, and young teenager watching in the 2000s.

If you didn’t get the chance to watch Lizzie Mcguire growing up, then we highly recommend watching it now. You’ll fall in love with the show, just like we did and then you HAVE to watch The Lizzie McGuire Movie because it’s the absolute best. SING TO ME PAULO!

Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2012)

Everything is not as it seems.

Along with That’s So Raven and Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place cemented its place as one of our favourite Disney Channel shows.

Wizards of Waverly Place was a genuinely funny show which involved teen wizards (an instant fave for any Harry Potter fan). It was the perfect mix of comedy, drama and fantasy. Before Selena Gomez became the superstar pop singer that she is now, she had her hands in a lot of magic. This show introduced us to Selena Gomez who starred as the main character Alex Russo, a wizard from New York. We instantly fell in love with Selena’s charm and still adore her to this day!

Who else remembers the Crazy Funky Hat Song?

Recess (1997-2006)

Who else's Saturday morning consisted of waking up and watching Recess on Disney Channel? During its time on air, Recess was one of the most popular shows of the late 90s/ early 2000s and we can see why! Recess was popular with children, teenagers, and adults alike!

The series focused on six elementary school students and their interaction with other classmates and teachers. Recess was one of those shows that was somewhat relatable with us all having experienced similar situations to the characters shown on screen. 

During its first few years on Disney Channel it was shown around twenty-six times a week, making it one of the most played shows on the channel. 

Kim Possible (2002-2007)

Call her, beep her, if you wanna reach her.

Kim Possible was more than just your “basic average girl”, she was a high schooler by day, secret spy by night. 

Here to save the world, Kim Possible basically paved the way for girls wanting to be spies. Kim and her best friend got up to so many wild adventures and we loved it! This show was so fun and action-packed and we wanted to be just like Kim Possible! 

Also, who remembers the naked mole rat Rufus?

Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015)

There’s 104 days of summer vacation and brothers Phineas and Ferb knew exactly how to spend it. Who else still remembers all the words to the theme tune? 

Phineas and Ferb followed the adventure of the two step brothers, always annoyed sister Candace and pet platypus, Perry. In a bid to avoid boredom during the summer holidays, they took it upon themselves to invent different contraptions and boy did they create some!

With different inventions being created every episode, we loved watching what Phineas and Ferb could come up with. Their sister, Candace (played by the fabulous Ashley Tisdale) couldn’t stand the mayhem and miserably failed to alert her parents every time, due to their various inventions magically disappearing before their parents could see.

And we can’t forget Perry the undercover spy! He was awesome!

And the list doesn’t stop there…

Did you think that we would relive our favourite Disney Channel shows without mentioning some of our favourite Disney Channel Original Movies? Of course not!

In our opinion, Disney Channel has created some absolute classics that will remain top of our list with being some of our favourite movies from our childhood.

Here are just a few of our favourites:

High School Musical 1,2, and 3! (We can’t discriminate!) 

Camp Rock 

The Cheetah Girls 

Get A Clue 

Halloween Town

Twitches 

Starstruck

Lemonade Mouth 

Disney Channel shows and movies in the 00s were epic! They brought so much fun and entertainment to our childhoods and we’re so thankful that Disney Channel existed when it did. We were extremely lucky! If only they still made Disney Channel shows like they used to right?

If you’re in need of a Disney Channel fix and want to relive your childhood once again, then you can find all the shows and movies that we’ve mentioned in this blogpost, exclusively on Disney +.