5. The Disney Channel Circle of Stars has a new cast. When the Disney Channel Circle of Stars was first created in 2003 it involved all of our favorite characters from the different shows. With a cast like Hilary Duff, Raven Symoné, Kyla Pratt, Aly Michalka, and Ashley Tisdale it was a cast full of extremely talented people – some of whom created huge musical careers for themselves. Since everyone who was involved when we watched the Circle of Stars is gone now, they have an entirely new cast and our generation probably couldn’t even name half of them.
4. The amount of cell phone/technology usage on the current shows. Watching Disney Channel as kids we probably never really paid attention to the minor details, but if we tried watching the shows now we would be amazed by just how much technology they use on the shows. A.N.T. Farm, for example, has a large amount of technology usage (as pictured below) and the main characters are only supposed to be 11-years-old! When I was 11 the only form of technology I had was a Tamagotchi!
A.N.T. FARM – “trANTsferred, parts 1” – (DISNEY CHANNEL/RON TOM)
CHINA ANNE MCCLAIN, SIERRA MCCORMICK, JAKE SHORT, AEDIN MINCKS
3. They don’t really show music videos anymore. Disney Channel may occasionally play a music video or two, but when we were growing up it was a lot more frequent. I still remember watching shows and constantly seeing a Cheetah Girls music video or Hannah Montana music video at least once a day. It was a great way of making you want to watch the full movie or show since you only get a snippet of it in a music video. You would also end up running around singing the same song all day long.
2. They cut the short series shows. Disney Channel used to include shorts between some of their shows such as Mike’s Super Short Show or As the Bell Rings. They were just fun little short shows that would air during breaks or between shows and it was a great way of keeping you entertained without making you lose focus on the program you’re watching. Unfortunately, all of these shorts stopped airing around 2011.
1. There’s no more Disney 411. Disney 411 was a short news segment that aired on Disney Channel that would provide you with interviews of various stars and give you other news in the world of Disney. (Today it’s known as Disney 365, but it hasn’t really been around since 2014.) It was a great way of having audiences feel more included and attached to Disney than by just turning on the TV to watch a show. You would probably even run home and turn on Disney Channel immediately after school in case there was anything new.
