How ‘Hannah Montana’ fans are preparing for the 20th Anniversary Special

Calling all Hannah Montana fans: Grab your wigs, skinny scarves and sequined tops because it’s time to gather ‘round for the highly anticipated anniversary special. Debuting Tuesday on Disney+, the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special will see Miley Cyrus, who famously portrayed the titular double-life-leading pop star from 2006 to 2011, go back to where it all began. But Cyrus isn’t returning to her Disney roots alone — her Hannah Montana fandom is right there with her.

Hannah Montana content is surging ahead of the special, a TikTok representative told Yahoo. Posts tagged #HannahMontana have jumped nearly 400% in the U.S. this past month, while #HannahMontanaAnniversary has grown 120 times. The anniversary special is sparking creative, nostalgic ways of celebrating among fans — from glitter-fueled watch parties to incredibly on-point Hannah Montana costumes.

Hannah Rodriguez, a second-grade teacher, plans to throw a 20th-anniversary special watch party for her students. A lifelong Hannah Montana fan herself, Rodriguez has been introducing her students to the fictional pop star in an educational way. She’s incorporated what she calls a “Montana Minute” into the school day. When her students finish their tasks, their reward is listening to a song from Hannah Montana’s discography.

“In my classroom, I have been doing a ‘Montana Minute’ with my 2nd graders as a brain break, and they have been loving it. They get so excited to finish their work so they can listen to a new Hannah Montana song, and it has turned into such a fun shared memory for all of us,” Rodriguez told Yahoo via email. “My students have seen how excited I have been throughout this whole process, and it has been so fun getting to share that with them, and bring a little bit of that excitement into our classroom too.”

Rodriguez added, “Hannah Montana has been such a special part of my life since I was four years old, and it feels really full circle getting to live this out now as an adult.”

Also throwing a watch party for the 20th anniversary special is Mackenzie Dudzik, a Los Angeles-based content creator. For Dudzik, who has decorated her living room with sparkly gold-and-purple decorations and a rhinestone-bedazzled microphone fit for Hannah herself, hosting a watch party was a no-brainer.

“She represents such a formative moment in my childhood,” Dudzik told Yahoo in an email. “Throwing a watch party felt like the perfect way to celebrate that shared nostalgia. It’s not just about revisiting a show we loved, it’s about honoring our younger selves and recognizing how far we’ve come since then. Hannah Montana reminds us of a time when life felt a little simpler, but also of the dreams and confidence that many of us are still carrying forward today.”

Hana Settles, an Arkansas-based content creator, is making Hannah Montana party favors for her watch party guests. Included in her gift bags are Hannah Montana buttons and friendship bracelets with phrases like “I Got Nerve,” “Sweet Niblets” and “Nobody’s Perfect.” Settles told Yahoo that celebrating Hannah Montana so unapologetically as an adult has been a healing experience for her.

“Now that I’m in my 30s, with adult money, I finally get to go all out for my Hannah Montana watch party,” Settles said via email. “It honestly feels like healing that inner sixth grader who got made fun of for loving something so much. Plus, she was the first celebrity I ever loved who had the same name as me.”

Filmed in front of a live studio audience, the hourlong streaming event features an interview between Cyrus and Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper, along with some nostalgic recreations of famous Hannah Montana sets and appearances from her parents, Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus. Plus, Cyrus will also debut a brand new, original Hannah Montana song along with a country-pop rendition of “The Best of Both Worlds.”

For Cyrus, the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special is — and always has been — about the fans.

“‘Hannah Montana’ will always be a part of who I am. What started as a TV show became a shared experience that shaped my life and the lives of so many fans, and I’ll always be thankful for that connection,” she said in a statement when the special was announced. “The fact that it still means so much to people all these years later is something I’m very proud of. This ‘Hannahversary’ is my way of celebrating and thanking the fans who’ve stood by me for 20 years.”