1. Zack and Cody would be YouTube stars. Remember when they were offered to star on their own TV show? They would still be destined for fame — but today, it would be online. They'd rack up millions of views on videos featuring their hijinks and pranks around the hotel.
2. Or they could fake their way onto Rich Kids of Instagram. It would be so easy for them to snap a photo in the hotel's penthouse and pretend they're really living the high life (I mean, they kind of are! Even if they're not uber-wealthy).
3. Zack and Cody would ride hoverboards, not rollerblades. Though those wristguards would still be a smart idea.
4. They'd have a Kickstarter to fix all the damage they inflict around the hotel. While they never explained how they paid to fix the satellite dish they knocked off the roof in the first episode, crowdfunding sure would help.
5. London would be based on Gigi Hadid, not Paris Hilton. It made sense to model London after the biggest It Girl of the 2000s, the trend-setting, fashion-loving hotel heiress Paris. Gigi's dad Mohamed is a real estate developer whose projects include several Ritz-Carlton Hotels, so the parallel actually makes a ton of sense. In 2016, her name would be... Fifi Fadid? Sure, let's go with that.
6. Maddie and London would FaceTime their friends to get opinions on their outfits. Rather than consulting that talking mirror.
7. And London would have approximately one zillion Instagram followers. She'd be famous.
8. The whole series could take place in an Airbnb. Aka the new hotel. The rest of the characters (Mr. Moseby, London, Maddie, Arwin, and so on) could be neighbors.
9. Maddie would sell handmade items on Etsy instead of working the candy counter. That sounds like way more fun, anyway.
10. Zack would've promposed to Maddie. Remember that episode when Zack mistakenly believed that Maddie had a crush on him and wanted to go to prom with him? Huge, public promposals weren't really a thing back in the mid-2000s — at least, they weren't as intense or common as they are now — but today, he'd take matters into his own hands by staging a romantic promposal Maddie couldn't refuse.
11. Zack and Cody would have undercuts, not bowl cuts. It's tough to believe you ever thought those bowl cuts looked good... but you did. Oh, boy, you did.
Hannah Orenstein is the author of several novels, including Meant to Be Mine (out June 7, 2022), Head Over Heels, Love at First Like, and Playing with Matches. She's also the Deputy Editor of Dating at Elite Daily. She lives in Brooklyn.
