As I am sure many of you can relate, Disney Channel was a gigantic part of my childhood and I spent numerous hours a day watching this channel. The shows were able to make me laugh, smile, and cry. They even taught me messages about friendship and trust that I still carry with me to this day. Even though I don’t spend as much time watching Disney Channel anymore, here are HC Hofstra’s top favorite old school Disney shows that will always have a special place in our hearts.
1. That’s So Raven
“You can gaze into the future” was probably the most iconic line in TV history. “That’s So Raven” was my favorite show growing up because of its incredible cast. Raven Symoné is an incredible actress and was able to portray the role of Raven Baxter perfectly. The sense of humor and kind heart that Raven had on the show always made me smile and the fact that she valued her friendship with Eddie and Chelsea made me love her that much more. I also can’t forget to mention “Boyz N Motion” who were probably the ones that started many of our current addictions to boy bands. “That’s So Raven” also addressed issues including body image, bullying, and friendship which I valued as a child because there were not that many shows that discussed these issues in a successful and entertaining way. “That’s So Raven” was so successful that it recently was picked up for a spin off called “Raven’s Home” which takes the audience on a journey through Raven and Chelsea’s lives as single mothers who are trying to make it work while still having fun together.
2. The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
I think I might be a bit biased towards this show because I am a twin, but this show was more relatable than I would like to admit. Zack and Cody had this weird sibling relationship where they would tease each other and bicker, but, at the end of the day, they would do anything for each other which warmed my 8 year old heart. Zack trying to hit on Maddie 95% of the time was brilliant, but what was even better was London Tipton with her rich dad. Thinking about it now, I can relate to London and Maddie’s friendship in which I have that one rich friend who gets everything while I have to work 12 hour shifts just to make a few dollars, but Maddie had a kind heart and would do anything to help the twins. Mr. Moseby and his iconic driving scene with London will probably never not be funny to most of us and we will likely never know how to pronounce Esteban’s last name without sounding foolish.
3. Cory in the House
“Cory in the House” was a show not only about an ordinary kid who lived in the White House, but about the story of unlikely friendship between three friends. The show had a funny quality to it in which had my 8 year old self always on the edge of my seat to see what crazy shenanigans Cory was going to get into. The President’s daughter on the show had the outlandish personality that we all wished we had, but the audience was able to live vicariously through her, making it feel realistic. My personal favorite part of the show was Cory’s dad, who was a chef, because he always seemed frantic as to what to prepare and I would always get a laugh from him. This show was a solid choice after school because not only was it funny, but Cory was such an interesting kid.
4. Hannah Montana
“Hannah Montana” was such an amazing show and had so many different aspects to it. This show was the first one where I felt that Disney really talked about important issues including fame, wealth, status, and disability which is something that was not really talked about on other shows. “Hannah Montana” also had a character for each different type of person and always would show that friendship triumphs over everything. The dynamic between Hannah and her father was pretty interesting to see play out because, as an 8 year old, I never knew that they were actually father and daughter in real life which was really cool to find out.
5. Life With Derek
“Life With Derek” did not last very long, but when this show was on it was my go to. The bickering that went on between Casey and Derek was so relatable that I thought the show was created based on my life. Casey always had an answer to everything and Derek was your typical irresponsible teenage boy who would always make a mess and blame it on his other siblings. The parents on this show were pretty funny and appeared to always be confused which I always thought to be hilarious.