Wait, WTF Were the Disney Channel Games?

MsMojo

From hamster balls to slapstick challenges, we’re diving into the wild world of Disney Channel’s summer competition! This nostalgia-packed retrospective examines how the Disney Channel Games brought together rising stars, hilarious antics, and reality TV influences for a legendary showdown. Which moments or teams stand out most in your memory? Let us know in the comments below!

Transcript

00:00Look at them down there.

00:01They think they're all that.

00:03And they are.

00:05Four teams, alike in dignity, in the fair ESPN wide world of sports in Orlando, Florida, where we lay our scene.

00:12Welcome to Ms. Mojo.

00:14And today, we're answering the question that poet laureates and philosopher kings have been pondering for the last decade.

00:20What the F were the Disney Channel games?

00:22Now we're talking.

00:23Yes.

00:24Alright, we are ready to go.

00:27A Disney Channel retrospective.

00:31The year is 2006.

00:33NASA launches its first probe to Pluto.

00:35The Human Genome Project completes Chromosome 1 again.

00:39And the Disney Channel?

00:40Well, they're about to make some history of their own.

00:43They have battled week in and week out on these hallowed grounds.

00:47Fought their way to the top to become more than just Disney Channel stars.

00:53They've become heroes.

00:55In terms of cultural impact, 2006 was nearing an apex of original programming.

01:01The duplicitous Hannah Montana graced our airwaves.

01:04The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

01:05Phil of the Future and That's So Raven were all hitting their strides.

01:09My dream starts today after school.

01:11Okay!

01:13Okay!

01:14Okay!

01:15Okay!

01:16Okay!

01:17Okay!

01:18Okay!

01:19Okay!

01:20Okay!

01:21Okay!

01:23And arguably most notably, January 2006 marked the release of the seminal classic high school

01:29musical.

01:30Slumber parties would never be the same.

01:32You really just had to be there.

01:33The network knew they had an A-list crew of rising stars, beloved heartthrobs, and Brian

01:46Stepanek.

01:47So what other choice did they have than to put them in hamster balls, right?

01:51Oh!

01:52It's a standoff!

01:53Wow!

01:54Have you ever seen this before?

01:55I have seen this before.

01:56I saw one standoff that lasted for three days, Phil.

01:58Wow!

01:59But they got out of that one quick.

02:00The rise of reality TV.

02:01All right, maybe let's rewind just a smidge more.

02:04Aside from the slew of successful programming that Disney had on their hands, the early 2000s

02:09was in the midst of a separate renaissance, reality television.

02:12One of you will be named the winner, and one of you will be out.

02:21In the US, competition series Big Brother, Survivor, and American Idol were all on the

02:25rise.

02:26Idol specifically maintaining at number one in the ratings from 2003 all the way to 2011.

02:32And around the turn of the 21st century, MTV was shifting their slate away from music

02:37content and towards the fresher reality TV landscape, with great success.

02:41I'm Justin, I'm 19, and I'm black and Italian, so I may be the first real Italian

02:46Stallion.

02:47Unequivocally, undeniably art.

02:50But this begs the question, how could the Disney Channel capitalize on this new grand

02:54unscripted era?

02:55It's high drama down here, and well, if you thought all these stars could do was act,

03:00think again.

03:01Yeah, start thinking, because these stars have been training for at least 15 minutes, and

03:06I can smell the excitement in the air.

03:09Ah yes, it does smell exactly like excitement, doesn't it though?

03:14Season 1, The Inception.

03:16The Disney Channel games ran their first season in the summer of 2006, modeling its structure

03:20off of the older ABC competition reality program, Battle of the Network Stars.

03:26As it was a new concept for the channel, season 1 was produced on a much more conservative scale

03:31than later seasons.

03:32The initial installment had only three teams of six, splitting up heavy hitters like the

03:41Sprouse Twins, and HSM stars Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens, and Zac Efron.

03:46Each team had a little something for everyone, you know?

03:50It's somewhat of equal value, so it's a good challenge.

03:54My special strategy for the obstacle course is to stay low, because we all scoped it out

03:59before, and we figured, oh, sorry, I hold on my fans.

04:03I love you too.

04:06This season was not so flashy.

04:08The challenges were, for lack of a better word, stupid.

04:11Lest we forget the hamster balls, and that was one of the better ones.

04:15Oh, oh, oh, they collided early there.

04:17They knocked over the…

04:18Oh, this is another one.

04:19There's a collision.

04:20You know, they had to cross there, and they couldn't.

04:22They really had us watching these kids play literal rock-paper-scissors.

04:26Not even like, oh, they're playing with massive props or something.

04:29No, they just slapped a sweatband on Miley Cyrus and made her play normal rock-paper-scissors

04:34on a soundstage.

04:35Rock.

04:36Paper.

04:37Scissors.

04:38Revealed.

04:39Two to two.

04:40Look at that.

04:41You're back in it.

04:42It was a tied-up game.

04:43She just enjoys the applause, too.

04:46She really does, doesn't she?

04:47But seriously, let's take a moment for Phil Lewis and Brian Stepanek's commentary.

04:51They were trying so hard.

04:53Respect.

04:54In a world.

04:55Yes, I got it.

04:56Rock.

04:57Paper.

04:58Scissors.

04:59It's very, I hope it feels good.

05:00Can I hold this?

05:01Sure.

05:02After nine grueling weeks of intense competition, our victors were the blue team.

05:07Notably, our winning group included actors Monique Coleman and Jason Earles, who were

05:1126 and 29 respectively at the time of filming.

05:14The two of them were approximately a decade older than the rest of their team, and pretty

05:19much the entire cast.

05:20Yes, look at this.

05:21These three have amazing concentration to keep up with Brian Stepanek, the Simon Says Master.

05:27Coleman spoke about her experience in the games, specifically how she and Earles were massively

05:31competitive, and quote, did not care that they were dunking on their much younger co-stars.

05:36And honestly, respect.

05:38Oh, that was right down the middle.

05:40There it is.

05:41He's gone.

05:42He's in the drink.

05:43That was right in the wheelhouse, Phil.

05:45And look at this.

05:46He is taunting Kyle in the water.

05:50Season 2, The Plot Thickens.

05:52The games returned for a second season in the summer of 2007, relocating its stage from

05:57Santa Clarita, California to the illustrious Orlando, Florida.

06:01Everyone's getting ready here at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, celebrating its

06:0410th anniversary hosting amateur and professional sporting events from around the globe, and a

06:09place where kids can compete in the same facilities that are used by the pros.

06:12Being cast as a participant not only meant that you were one of the elite members of the Disney

06:17Channel canon, but it also landed you exclusive VIP access to the Disney World parks.

06:22We're grown and we're jealous.

06:24Yes, Pip Pip and golly gosh governor and all that.

06:28The cast expanded significantly in Season 2, adding a fourth yellow team, and increasing

06:33team size from six players to eight or nine.

06:36As for the challenges, they upped the ante.

06:38Rock paper scissors became extreme rock paper scissors.

06:42Which is regular rock paper scissors, but they get to hit each other with big plastic thingies.

06:47Oh, it's a tie for it.

06:48This is a joust, Phil.

06:49This is it.

06:50Our first joust.

06:51Here we go.

06:52The jousting cushions are in.

06:53Here we go.

06:54And they start!

06:55Whoa!

06:56Did you see that?

06:57That was fantastic.

06:58But really, the second coming of the games was quite obviously higher in production value

07:01than its predecessor, even if the challenges themselves were intentionally silly.

07:05What more could we really expect?

07:07Unless Mitchell Musso had been practicing his clean and jerk, we'd say the kids could stick

07:12to soccer in Simon Says.

07:13Simon Says keep going backwards.

07:15Stop.

07:16Hold it.

07:17Hold it.

07:18Stop.

07:19Simon Says stop.

07:20Take a step to your right.

07:21Oh no, Mitchell took a step.

07:25As the stakes were raised in quality, this year's Disney Channel Games contestants were

07:29also playing for charity, with the winning team aiming to earn $100,000 for the cause of

07:34their choosing.

07:35Though, in the end, each charity was ultimately gifted a portion of the donation.

07:40A heartwarming twist.

07:41So no matter what happens, everyone is a winner.

07:43Man, could this get any better?

07:44Could it?

07:45Really, could it?

07:46It could get a little better.

07:47No.

07:48Yes it could.

07:49What are you gonna tell me?

07:50Well, it's just the tip of the iceberg, my friend, because this year's games are also

07:52carbon neutral.

07:53But as for the competition, the green team ran away with the victory.

07:58While their official team captain was Dylan Sprouse, one of our winning players, once again,

08:03was Queen Monique Coleman.

08:05She carried.

08:06How do you feel?

08:07I feel good.

08:08I feel really good, you know?

08:09In another notable shift between seasons, the closing ceremonies of the games now included

08:14live performances from Disney's hottest rising stars, promoting their music to the fans watching

08:19at home.

08:20Miley Cyrus closed out the event, performing as herself.

08:30This live appearance precedes the start of her Best of Both Worlds tour, meaning this

08:34was one of Miley Cyrus' very first non-Hannah Montana shows ever.

08:38Now that's a cultural moment.

08:40I try to find another good like me, boy.

08:43Feel me when I tell you I'm fine and it's time for me to draw the line I say.

08:48Season 3, The Peak and The End.

08:51Remember how we said that 2006 was nearing the heights of Disney original programming?

08:55Well, by 2008, the channel had introduced Wizards of Waverly Place, the Sprouses were

09:00now on deck, and the summer release of Camp Rock united the Joe Bros and Demi Lovato.

09:05And of course, Alison Stoner, who gave us the performance of a lifetime.

09:09Hi, I'm Caitlin.

09:10Camper Today, top-selling music producer tomorrow.

09:12Check me out.

09:16Cool!

09:17The third and final season was actually the shortest, airing only five episodes total, though

09:22it arguably left the largest impact on the cultural consciousness of Y2K Kids.

09:26This was the largest cast to date, not to mention the first and only participation by

09:31the Jonas Brothers.

09:32Everybody was screaming and yelling.

09:33We couldn't wait to find out which teams we were on.

09:36Definitely a lot of new faces from all around the world and even some people that I hadn't

09:40met in our Disney Channel family.

09:41We regret to inform you that this year was the first that legend Monique Coleman did not

09:45play.

09:46Who do we even root for now?

09:47When I found out that I had Shin on my team and, you know, I had Alison Stoner, I was so

09:52excited because most of them were veterans from the games.

09:55Alison's a newbie, but I knew that she would be a real strong competitor.

09:58Aside from just covering the competitions, Season 3 leaned into the reality element of the series

10:03the hardest.

10:04The episodes put a different focus on the contestants themselves.

10:07Because, let's be real, that's why we were all watching anyway.

10:10The green team has such great chemistry and we work together so well.

10:14I mean, we all sort of knew when we first got together that this is going to be easy.

10:18The super organic and definitely not scripted glimpses within the team's tents gave us kids

10:23at home a chance to see all of our faves interacting.

10:26Which arguably was more exciting than any game of rock, paper, scissors we've ever seen.

10:31Okay, but to be fair, this season was the first to not feature rock, paper, scissors.

10:35So, we're done talking about rock, paper, scissors.

10:38A moment of silence.

10:39Oh, that hurt.

10:41Oh, Phil, paper cut.

10:43Ah!

10:44Oh!

10:45Oh, that smarts.

10:46That's a smarty injury.

10:47It's terrible.

10:48Medic!

10:49The red team brought home the win in season 3, led by their captain Brenda Song.

10:53But if you were a Jonas Brothers stan in 2008, Nick won.

10:57In fact, Nick Jonas talked about the Disney Channel games in a Tonight Show interview in 2024,

11:02describing the time as Love Island on crack.

11:04Where they would put a bunch of, like, teenagers in the Disney park after hours.

11:09Oh my goodness.

11:10And just say, let's see what happens.

11:11He didn't elaborate on the details.

11:13He's a gentleman, we suppose.

11:15But we can only imagine the teenage drama that unfolded behind the scenes.

11:18We need a reunion special ASAP.

11:21Now we see who we are in a different light.

11:25We're not so far apart.

11:27Anything is possible.

11:29Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified

11:34about our latest videos.

11:36You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.

11:40If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.

11:45Epilogue.

11:46So, why did it have to end?

11:48They had a bona fide hit on their hands, didn't they?

11:51If you ask us, sure.

11:52But for whatever reason, the Disney Channel games burned bright and then faded away.

11:58I was so speechless.

11:59I mean, it's such an awesome event.

12:01I'm so lucky because I'm here doing this right now.

12:04Disney's Friends for Change Games, a similar but not as good rebrand of the series, aired

12:09in 2011.

12:10But it clearly didn't have the same panache.

12:12Honestly, it's probably because there was no Brian Stepanek.

12:15He was the glue when you really think about it.

12:17I really, really enjoy being your host, and I really mean that from the heart.

12:22Okay, that is painful, painful blank.

12:25Though it was short-lived, this summer series undoubtedly left its mark.

12:29While no one's claiming that the Disney Channel games themselves were the catalyst that propelled

12:33these stars' careers forward, when you analyze the show in retrospect, it tells a larger story

12:38of the trajectory of the brand and its key players.

12:41This is the first time we were getting a chance to see who is going to be in this competition.

12:46There was so much anxiety.

12:48It's like, are you going to be on my team?

12:50If you scrutinize each season's cast, which we did, obviously, you'll see who gained

12:55enough clout to be included and when, as well as who seemed to outgrow the competition entirely.

13:00By Season 3, you can see that High School Musical's peak was waning, with its stars off

13:05on other creative endeavors.

13:07In its wake, Camp Rock, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez were the new class on the rise, and in

13:12the very early days of their professional paths.

13:14It was a real honor to be here at the Disney Channel games.

13:18I had a blast meeting every single person here.

13:21As the Disney canon was growing quickly, the games served not only to boost their summer

13:25viewership, but to bolster the relationship young audiences had with their franchises and stars.

13:30Using a competition reality format created a window for the fans to see their favorite Disney

13:35celebs as actual people, as opposed to the usual Teen Mag interviews we had to scour.

13:40There's no brother rivalry outside the field.

13:43There's no, like, oh, I'm going to beat you on guitar licks or anything like that.

13:47It's all left on the field.

13:48Maybe it's the nostalgia speaking, but if you ask us, the Disney Channel games were the

13:53pinnacle of tween entertainment, even when they were in Hamster Balls.

13:57Nay, especially when they were in Hamster Balls.

14:00These are exciting races.

14:01Oh, so good.

14:02Let's take a look at this instant replay.

14:04Jason, watch the flip.

14:05Watch the flip.

14:06Oh, huh?

14:07He took a tumble.

14:08That was incredible!

14:10So which season of the Disney Channel games do you think was the most iconic?

14:14Let us know in the comments.

14:15You know what my favorite part was?

14:16My favorite part was when Keeley found out she was a team captain.

14:19She totally freaked out.

14:20It was so awesome.

14:21Or when Lightning, when they totally won the chariot race.

14:24That was so cool.

14:26Or when the...

14:27You know, I'm going to stop yammering on.

14:29I should just stop.

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