Today is a huge day for Disney fans, so try and keep up…

Disney’s long awaited digital 3D movie ‘A Christmas Carol’ hits theaters, so be sure to get your tickets! The movie stars Jim Carrey and recreates the classic Dickens tale for a new generation.

Then, starting at 8pm/7pm central, be sure to check out a whole slew of premiers on the Disney channel. Up first is a brand new ‘Wizards of Waverly Place,’ where Justin goes toe to toe with a real life mummy. Then, in a brand new ‘Suite Life on Deck,’ Zack and Cody write a song for American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. Finally at 9pm, Phineas and Ferb travel through time, exploring both the past and the future.

Is if that weren’t enough, Saturday and Sunday night also feature premiers for the hit shows ‘Jonas’ and ‘Sonny with a Chance.’ In other words, this weekend has everything you need to remain stimulated, entertained and unconcerned with silly matters like studying, exercising or experiencing sunlight.

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So the Nielsen ratings are in for the week…and as it turns out, Disney is kicking butt…

Here is the complete list, courtesy of the Associated Press:

1. NFL Football: N.Y. Jets vs. Miami (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), ESPN, 9.65 million homes, 13.13 million viewers.

2. MLB National League Championship Series: Philadelphia vs. L.A. Dodgers, Game 1 (Thursday, 7:59 p.m.), TBS, 4.93 million homes, 6.83 million viewers.

3. “Hannah Montana” (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), Disney, 3.95 million homes, 5.71 million viewers.

4. MLB Division Series: Philadelphia vs. Colorado, Game 4 (Monday, 6 p.m.), TBS, 3.71 million homes, 5.2 million viewers.

5. “NCIS” (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.56 million homes, 4.87 million viewers.

6. MLB National League Championship Series: L.A. Dodgers vs. Philadelphia, Game 3 (Sunday, 8 p.m.), TBS, 3.45 million homes, 5.03 million viewers.

7. “WWE Raw” (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.41 million homes, 4.84 million viewers.

8. MLB National League Championship Series: Philadelphia vs. L.A. Dodgers, Game 2 (Friday, 4 p.m.), TBS, 3.34 million homes, 4.42 million viewers.

9. “WWE Raw” (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.27 million homes, 4.73 million viewers.

10. College Football: S. Carolina vs. Clemson (Saturday, 7:41 p.m.), ESPN, 3.26 million homes, 4.61 million viewers.

11. “Suite Life on Deck” (Friday, 8:30 p.m.), Disney, 3.18 million homes, 4.65 million viewers.

12. “ICarly” (Saturday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.11 million homes, 4.67 million viewers.

13. “Wizards of Waverly Place” (Friday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3.07 million homes, 4.55 million viewers.

14. “NCIS” (Wednesday, 7 p.m.), USA, 2.995 million homes, 3.93 million viewers.

15. “Phineas and Ferb” (Friday, 9 p.m.), Disney, 2.990 million homes, 4.44 million viewers.

Notice that not one, not two, but FOUR shows in the top 15 are Disney Channel originals: Hannah Montana (#3), Suite Life on Deck (#11), Wizards of Waverly Place (#13), and Phineas & Ferb (#15).

There was a time when cable shows couldn’t even reach the Nielsen top 50, and now the Disney Channel is absolutely killing in the ratings.

Now if Hannah Montana could just learn how to throw a football, she would be #1 in a heartbeat.

Image courtesy of Flickr

Variety has just reported that Disney’s hit “The Suite Life on Deck” will return for a third season, with filming likely for early 2010. According to Variety:

Starring twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse, “Suite Life” is TV’s top-ranked series among kids 6-11 and No. 2 in the 9-14 demo, boasting nearly 25% growth compared with its first season.

On Oct. 2, the show drew its highest numbers to date with 6.8 million viewers overall.

…which should come as no surprise to anyone even vaguely familiar with the show. I mean, think about it: you’ve got two Dennis-the-Menace-style miscreants living on a luxury cruise ship with a southern belle (Debby Ryan, aka Bailey Pickett), a wealthy socialite (Brenda song, aka London Tipton), and a grumpy but overall-well-meaning chaperone/manager (Phill Lewis, aka Marion “Good luck with that” Moseby), complete with endless accommodations, around-the-clock buffets and apparently no parents in sight to tell them what to do. Isn’t this every kid’s fantasy? That life couldn’t be any more magical if they had magic wands and a giant named Hagrid.

But anyway, I digress. Congrats to the Suite Life!