Bonjour, souris, canards, et grands chiens, and welcome to Walt Disney Studios Paris! A couple of years back the beans were lucky enough to spend a day at the original Disneyland Paris theme park across the way, and now they're back to check out the newest addition to the Mickey du France family. (Hey, any excuse for the frijoles can get to drop in on a Disney theme park? They're there, baby.)

Anyway, The Walt Disney Studios Paris opened its movie-filled gates on March 16, 2002, as the second gated theme park in Marne-La-Vallée. It's similar in a lot of ways to Florida's Disney Studios theme park - they both have animation exhibits, backstage tram tours, stunt shows, and of course Disney-themed rides and shows -- only with the French twist (and language). So since the beans are in France, they've decided to polish up on their franco-language skills. Ahem: "Pardonnez-moi, où êtes souris de Mickey ? Il doit aux haricots dix euros." How's that? (If it gets us paid back that money we loaned the Mouse, then we'll know we said it right.)

So here the beans check out "Animagique", a show that features great moments from classic Disney animation, all presented in black light. Hey, the black beans really dig the black light effects - makes them wish they had a disco ball and a lava lamp to go with it. Groovy!

One thing that the Disneyland Paris theme parks are known for is their fantastic shows and parades - they celebrate in hugely colorful ways here. And the featured parade here at the Walt Disney Studios is no exception - check out this float from the Disney Cinema Parade. This giant clapboard, which is adorned with characters from "Pinocchio", starts the parade off for the frijoles with a bang (and a smile). As you can see, our old pals Captain Hook and Goofy are also making their way down the parade route, so the beans were sure to stop off and say hi and shake hand/hooks with the gang.

The beans really wish that they'd be featured on a parade float one of these days - how many black and blue roses would it take to make a giant flower-covered can? That's what I thought...

While along the parade route, the beans also ran into their old friend Minnie Mouse. The last time we saw Minnie, it was in May on the Disney Magic cruise ship, where she was kind enough to actually hold them for a photo. Well, you know the beans - any attention is good attention - so they were a little miffed that Minnie gave them the brush-off here in Paris, and pretended like she didn't recognize them. Can you imagine that - after everything they'd been through together? Hey, Minnie - whatsamatta? Isn't this the City of Love, after all? Sigh - so much for amour...

To drown their sorrows at Minnie's dismissal, the dejected frijoles went over to the Studio Catering Company, where they drowned their sorrows in a large popcorn, ice cream, some chicken wings, a pizza or twelve, a couple of hot dogs, and a gallon or two of Diet Coke. (After all that, they felt the "diet" element to their beverage of choice was important for maintaining their 15-ounce canned figure.)

But this being A Disney theme park, this story does indeed have a happy ending. While they were enjoying their "light afternoon tea", the beans ran into Belle and Jasmine, who took pity on their little broken hearts and promised to show them around Paris after park hours. The last thing we heard from the beans was "Minnie who?"

After all that junk food (regrettably, they did this in the wrong order), the beans decided it was the perfect time for a ride on the Rock 'n Roller Coaster, starring Boston-based rockers Aerosmith. Why they went with an atypical American band for a French attraction is unknown to me; perhaps the French kids find "Amour Dans Un Ascenseur" and "Le Type Ressemble à Une Dame" to be monster hits, too. Regardless, the beans have always enjoyed this ride, which takes you from 0 to 100 km/h in a matter of seconds, then flips you upside down a couple of times for good measure. All this while 120 speakers per car blare loud Aerosmith tunes. Who says Rock & Roll ain't great???

As you may well expect, the beans thought this ride was the highlight of their trip to the Studios. And don't worry about their "constitution" - they may not have a cast iron stomach, by a metal one comes close enough.

There you have it - another fantastic day for the frijoles in a Disney theme park. The beans would sincerely like to thank the Wilmots and Robin for hauling them along, and to every Cast Member at Disneyland Paris for being so much fun to hang out with for the day.

Now that they've done both Anaheim parks, all four Florida parks, and now both Paris Disney parks (plus a side jaunt to the Disney Studios in Burbank), the beans have to start nagging people for a trip to Tokyo and/or Hong Kong. Until then, the frijoles will wear their miniature mouse ears with pride, and hope that all of you can make the trip to France to see this wonderful place for yourself. Oh, and if you happen to run into Minnie while here, be sure to let her know that the beans have moved on, so she can stop calling now.