The episode where they put on High School Musical might as well be called "Hey, Did You Know Ashley Tisdale Also Plays Sharpay?" Gets bonus points for Tisdale performing Lucas Grabeel's parts in "Bop To The Top".
Also one of the twins says Max dances better than a girl in a Missy Elliot video. Alyson Stoner, Max's actress, was in the video for "Work It".
"The Suite Smell of Success" has a universe where London and Maddie switch lives, a reference to how the actresses originally auditioned for each other's roles.
Adored by the Network: Not saying much since just about every Disney Channel Tweencom is played 6 times a day.
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody was played on Disney XD - over six years after it aired its last episode. On Deck was played on both XD and the main network even over three years after its finale.
Approval of God: When it was announced that Paris Hilton named her daughter "London", many people assumed she was named for London Tipton, who was a parody of her. Hilton confirmed it was just a coincidence but also said she actually loved the character.
Banned Episode: "Smart & Smarterer" (the episode where Zack fakes having dyslexia so everybody will get off his case about his poor grades) isn't on Disney+, though it is available for purchase on other streaming platforms.
"Doin' Time in Suite 2330" is also not on the service, nor has it been on either network or their respective streaming service ever since guest star Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna. However, it is still available on iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, etc.
Corpsing: At the end of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad Hotel", when Arwin happily jumps and yells when he thinks his glue made him rich, you can see Ashley Tisdale and Kim Rhodes trying to hold in their laughter.
Dawson Casting: Not so noticeable in the beginning when 17-year old Brenda Song was playing 15-year old London Tipton, but by the end of The Suite Life On Deck in 2011, London was a high school senior and Brenda was 23. Ashley Tisdale played 15-year old Maddie in 2005 when she was 20, but it's unclear if Maddie aged as slowly as London or if it just took London a few tries to make it through high school. (though On Deck makes it clear.) In any case, Ashley was 23 when The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ended. It was worse for minor character Mary Margaret, who was the same age as London and Maddie, but played by Monique Coleman, who is five years older than Ashley and eight years older than Brenda. Averted completely with Zack and Cody themselves, who were literally the exact same age as their characters, starting the series off 12 and graduating at the end of the series at 17-18.note Dylan and Cole were born in August 1992, meaning they would've graduated high school in either 2010 or 2011 depending on what time of year they started school, and the final season aired from late 2010 until mid-2011, meaning either way it's spot on. Not only that, but an early episode showed an in-universe home video of the twins as babies that was dated in 1992.
It's pretty clear that London has been held back. In On Deck, Tutweiller mentioned that London had been voted Prom Queen her last 3 senior years, confirming she had been held back. Plus the twins, who are three years younger, graduated with her. So in the final season of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, London and Maddie are seniors and Zack and Cody are freshmen. At the start of On Deck, London is still a senior and Zack and Cody are sophomores. So London doesn't really fit this trope too much as London would be 21 while Brenda was 23.
Most of the recurring teenage characters were played by young adults as well when they got their roles. Aaron Musicant (Lance) was 20, Giovonnie Samuels (Nia) was 22, and Kara Taitz (Millicent) was 27.
Development Gag: Moseby insists in an episode the standard retirement age for Tipton employees is 65, which was a gag about how at the time, Disney shows were expected or even required to end at 65 episodes. Since then, many more Disney shows have experienced enough success that they’ve kept going well past 65 episodes, pretty much making the old rule a thing of the past.
Directed by Cast Member: Phill Lewis directed a few episodes, and would later go on to become a regular director for nearly every subsequent Disney Channel series after On Deck.
Disowned Adaptation: When one fan asked Cole Sprouse on Twitter how to get past a level in the official DS game, he responded by telling them to smash the cartridge.
One day on the set, a staff member noticed doughnuts in craft services, pointed at the Sprouse twins, and angrily said in front of everyone, "No more junk food until he [Dylan] looks like him [Cole] again." Kim Rhodes was furious at Dylan being publicly body shamed and chewed them out for speaking that way to a child.
Someone on set filed a complaint about Kim Rhodes often swearing on set, even in front of the Sprouse twins. The twins assured her that they didn't mind her swearing because they already knew every swear word in the book from previously working with Adam Sandler.
According to Kim Rhodes, Dylan Sprouse refused to recite a line of dialogue that was a fat joke about Carey, he left it out during rehearsal and then again when the studio audience was brought in and the director was furious at him for not saying the line and Dylan said he would recite dialogue if it was funny but he wouldn't say anything that would disrespect a woman.
Several of the cast members have said in interviews that the Sprouse twins were actually more similar to the twin they didn't portray in terms of personality, with Dylan Sprouse (Zack) being more level-headed and Cole Sprouse (Cody) being more rash. This seemed to show in their adult lives after the series, as Dylan largely remained subdued in regards to his personal life and only seldom appears publicly, while Cole has not only remained in the spotlight but made rounds for frequently making outlandish statements that caused backlash, with many joking about how they were actually like the opposite characters in real life.
London Tipton is a ditzy airhead while Brenda Song turned down Harvard to be in the show.
Maddie eventually gained a group of friends from school who would show up every once in a while. They were played by the same girls who played Gabriella, Taylor and Martha.
The Other Marty: London's talking mirror, which appears in "That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana", "Lost in Translation", and "Super Twins", was originally voiced by Brian Peck, who previously worked for competitor Nickelodeon. After Disney learned of Peck's 2003 arrest for sexually assaulting Drake Bell, the mirror's voice was redubbed for later reruns and streaming(though the original versions of the former and latter episode are on DVD) by voice actor Jim Meskimen.
Promoted Fangirl: Janice and Jessica's actresses Camilla and Rebecca Rosso were chosen to audition at one of the show's live tapings.
Real-Life Relative: Ashley Tisdale's sister Jennifer plays one of the actresses in the western film in "The Suite Life Goes Hollywood". Jennifer would return on the On Deck episode "Flowers and Chocolate" as Connie, the activities coordinator.
Referenced by...: A Robot Chicken sketch mashes the show up with The Shining to create The Shining Life of Zack & Cody, with the part of Jack Torrance being filled in by Mr. Moseby as he terrorizes Zack and Cody throughout the now-haunted Tipton in the middle of a blizzard.
There's a ghost in that room, writing REDRUM on the wall Zack and Cody had the suite life, now they've got haunted halls! Used to be they had a lucky streak, now they're practically in hell Turns out life isn't always suite, when you're living in a hotel! This is the Shining Life!
Phill Lewis as Moseby and the Robot Moseby in "Starship Tipton".
Dawson Casting: Woody's younger sister Willa was played by Linsey Godfrey, who was 22 at the time, although Matthew Timmons was the same age as his character (17).
Inverted with Zoey Deutch as Maya, who was 16 playing a soon-to-be graduate.
Matthew Timmons, Doc Shaw, and Debby Ryan were all aversions, as they are all just months apart from Dylan and Cole in age.
Phill Lewis was retroactively made an example in the series, as he states in an episode that he's "not even 40". Lewis was in his late 30s at the start of the original show and was already over 40 himself by the time the episode in question aired, though it's not that noticeable as he largely looked the same.
Erin Cardillo is a minor inversion, as Ms. Tutweiller is explicitly stated to be in her mid-30s while Cardillo was in her early 30s the whole series (she turned 34 shortly after the final season wrapped filming).
Edited for Syndication: The Grand Finale "Graduation On Deck" was originally aired as a special 40-minute extended episode with Creative Closing Credits. It was later edited down to 30 minutes like the other episodes, removing some scenes with the credits being one in particular.
Fake Mixed Race: London Tipton's mother is revealed to be Thai and father is revealed to be white. London is played by Brenda Song, who is both Hmong and Thai.
Fake Nationality: Foreigners are generally played by American actors. This was also once Double Subverted — they visit England, and the guest star of the week is Charles Shaughnessy, who actually is British — but by the end of the episode, the character has been revealed to be Belgian. Go figure. This is averted with Luca from the episode "When in Rome", played by the actually Italian Jacopo Sorno, who not only speaks in his natural accent but sings a song in his native tongue.
Fake Russian: The episode "Das Boots" had Sasha Matryoshka, a Russian junior chess champion played by Cody Kennedy, who's of Russian ancestry, but otherwise American as apple pie.
Promoted Fangirl: Debby Ryan had a few acting credits but was otherwise just a normal teenager and huge fan of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody before becoming Bailey.
What Could Have Been: Dylan Sprouse said he and Cole wanted to have creative control of the show for a potential 4th season, as well as a pay increase and producer credit. They pitched an idea where Zack and Cody return to the Tipton while the two attend college. They would also become friends/mentors to a boy who lives with his single father in the hotel, showing him all the fun one could have at the Tipton. Once the season ended, the boy and his father would get their own show via a spin-off. Disney vetoed their pitch idea and gave their own idea which, according to Sprouse, was the same as theirs but with a few twists (and did not increase their pay and give credit). The potential show would have involved Zack going to work in Miami with Cody and would've had Selena Gomez attached. There were rumors saying that the executives liked Debby's idea more than the Sprouses' (Which led to Jessie), and the rest is history.
to deliver a line including a fat joke about her even when pressed by the executive producer.