Howdy, Mouseketeers and imagineers, and welcome to the wonderful, magical, fantastic world of Disneyland! As those of you who regularly read this bean stuff know, I'm a world class, die-hard, A number one Disney fanatic, so this will probably be the easiest writeup I've ever done. (Don't worry - I'll try really hard to not over-geek you with my Disney lore...) The beans have been to Disneyland before (but forgot to have their picture taken - doh!), plus they've seen Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. Hey - anyone heading to Tokyo anytime soon??? So here the beans start their day just inside the main gate in front of the berm, which is where you'll find the giant Mickey-in-flowers. Can you just imagine how many millions of photos have been taken over the past 49 years at this very spot? It boggles the mind. Still, this is the first time the beans have posed here, so we can starting counting again at "one" if you want to.

Now, since I'm technically still the reigning National Disney Store Trivia Champion (they canceled the contest the year after I won it, so the crown is still mine!), It's my goal to do this writeup completely from memory. Hey - four years of studying nothing but Disney ought to be good for something, right? Still, I know that there are a couple dozen Triviateers out there who'll be glad to help out with any goofs I may make along the way, so I'm not too worried. Anywho, here are the beans at the Main Street Station for the Disneyland Railroad, which makes a circular trek around the Magic Kingdom, with stops at Frontierland, Toontown, and Tomorrowland, before coming face to face with the Grand Canyon and Primeval Dioramas. How it manages to pull all this off in just a few minutes I'll never know, but the beans still dig it. Besides, if the frijoles ask the engineer really nicely, maybe they'll get to ride up in the engine. Pleeeeeeeeeze!

Next up, the beans make their way down Main Street U.S.A., where they stop at the hub to say hello their personal hero. Disneyland opened to the public on Sunday, July 17, 1955, thanks to the dreams of this guy, Walter Elias Disney. Uncle Walt was a dreamer extraordinaire, and we have him to thank for bringing the magic of Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and the gang to life. This statue is called "Partners", which was designed by legendary Disney sculptor Blaine Gibson as a tribute to Uncle Walt and his best pal. The beans tried to not get too misty-eyed about seeing this statue, partially because tears tend to rust their can, and partially because they had to get movin' - there aren't any rides on Main Street!

Just behind the hub of Main Street you'll find Sleeping Beauty Castle, which leads to Fantasyland. The castle technically has a walk-through attraction inside, showing diorama displays from the movie Sleeping Beauty, but alas - it's been closed for some time now. The drawbridge on the castle actually works, but has only been lowered twice - once on opening day, and once after a Fantasyland rehab in the early 80's. There are few things in this world that the beans enjoy more than watching the evening fireworks shooting over the top of this castle -- it's magic at its finest, kids... Anyway, the beans were anxious to head through the castle, because on the other side of the wall is Peter Pan's Flight and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride -- and we all know how much the beans looooove to drive...

In between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland you'll find the Matterhorn, the world's first linear track roller coaster. The Matterhorn is a 1/100 scale replica of the genuine Swiss mountain, and its peak is one of the first things that anxious kids everywhere look for as their family's station wagon approaches the parking lot. (Okay, maybe that's just me -- but I somehow doubt it.) Deep inside the Matterhorn you'll find the Abominable Snowman waiting for you, so remember, kids -- keep those hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times, if you know what's good for you. (Excellent advice from the Safety Vegetables.)

Next up, the beans head West into the park, where they visit New Orleans Square. New Orleans Square was the first new "land" added to Disneyland, opening in 1966. It's the classy home to a lot of funky shops, nice sit-down restaurants, cool jazz music, and two of the best attractions on Earth -- the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean. New Orleans Square is also home to the most exclusive restaurant in the parks, Club 33. The restaurant, which stays hidden from public view by a heavy door, is on the second floor above the shops, but don't go knockin on the door, hoping for a Monte Cristo sandwich or a frozen banana -- membership to Club 33 is very exclusive, and very pricey. You have to have friends in really high places to dine there, but take it from me - it's worth every penny. (I've been there twice. Neener, neener, neener.)

As mentioned above, New Orleans Square is home to Pirates of the Caribbean, a swashbucklin' good time if there ever was one. Pirates opened in 1967, and takes you and a boat filled with buccaneers, scalawags, and other ne'er-do-wells (i.e. other park Guests) down a pair of waterfalls into the wonderful world of plundering. Pirates of the Caribbean also has a fantastic theme song, "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me", which the beans proudly know all of the words to, and will gladly sing for your entertainment anytime you'd like. Just ask. Anyway, the frijoles had a great time on Pirates, even though they didn't see anyone who resembled Johnny Depp in the slightest...

If you were to turn 180 degrees around from Pirates, as the beans have, you'll find Frontierland and the Rivers of America, where the majestic Mark Twain makes it's circle around Tom Sawyer Island all day long. The Mark Twain is Disneyland's riverboat, and has been part of the park's history since opening day. Way back when they used to have live entertainment on board, but nowadays you can just sit back, enjoy the ride, and wonder how come they still haven't put out that burning cabin fire... The beans enjoyed their ride on the Rivers of America, only next time they'll try it on the riverboat, and not on the back of a duck.

Also on the Rivers of America you'll find the Sailing Ship Columbia, which is a 3-mast replica of the first ship to American ship to sail around the world. At night the Columbia takes on a whole new persona, when it doubles as Captain Hook's ship in the Peter Pan scene of Fantasmic!, Disneyland's nightime lights/lasers/fire/actors/musical spectacular. (If you haven't seen it yet, well then - get on it!). Since the beans are such huge Peter Pan fans (they personally like the crocodile - and his appetite!), they were glad to hop on board the Columbia. Now, if only they had a little pixie dust, we'd all get to see this baby fly...

Heading back towards Critter Country, the beans stopped to check out what was happening up on Chickapin Hill, which is home to Splash Mountain. Splash Mountain is by the far the greatest flume ride on the face of this or any other planet, as far as the beans are concerned. Short of cliff diving in Acapulco, this will be about as close as the frijoles will ever come to experiencing a plunge off a hill into the water, and so they enjoy it more and more every time they ride. (Can you tell that the beans really like this one???) So since there's no time like the present, and there are only so many FastPASSes to go around, the beans were quick to jump in line. Boy - it's a good thing that canned vegetables are subjected to the minimum ride height requirements, isn't it?

Splash Mountain is themed around the music and animated characters from the 1946 Disney movie "Song of the South", a classic film that is rarely shown any longer. (It's not considered P.C. - sorry.) The ride follows the adventures of Brer Rabbit as he heads off in search of his laughing place, all the while being followed by his arch nemesis Brer Fox, and his not-so-bright sidekick, Brer Bear. And as you can see, here the beans stop to have a chat with Mr. Brer Bear, but alas - he was a little tied up at the moment, so perhaps they'll come back later and see if he's still hanging around...

One of the highlights of Splash Mountain is the 52-foot plunge down the front of Chickapin Hill into Brer Rabbit's Briar Patch (hey - how else are you supposed to escape?). For about half a second, you get a pretty nice view of the park from the top, then it's straight down, baby -- into the Y.R.W. (Yucky Ride Water®) below. Once you get out of the log and make your soggy way towards the exit, you'll find that the clever people at Disney were kind enough to snap your photo on the way down the hill. And for a small fee, you too can purchase a souvenir copy of your moment of elation (or fear, depending on your point of view). And so that's how we're able to present to you this shot. Here are BATW Ambassador Bill, Aaron, Ryan, Tyler, Carrie (hidden), and of course the frijoles, having a great time on the way down. The beans tried to remember to smile for the picture, but it wasn't easy. At least they kept their eyes open.

The day was getting short, but the beans still had time for a little more fun. So with their spanky new Mickey Mouse Mouseketeer ears on, our beloved can made their way over to Fantasyland to check out a special holiday edition of "Its A Small World". For 10 months a year, this ride features the immortal Sherman Brothers "always stuck in your mind" song of the same name. All together now! "It's a small world, after all, it's a small world..." (Insert sound of a can of beans screaming and running away here.) But when the Christmas season arrives, IASW puts on its best holiday decorations and changes its song over to "Jingle Bells". For this reason alone, the beans were more than glad to take a ride.

Finally, the beans wrapped up their glorious trip with a photo beside this neon message, which pretty much sums up the frijole's ultimate goal in life. Yep, Peace on Earth. That, and a lifetime Disney park pass. So anyway, thanks for coming along with the veggies on their Magic Kingdom afternoon, and special thanks to Bill and his family for including them in their Disneyland fun. We'll see you in line for a frozen banana.