NEW Orleans was Walt Disney's favourite city. Its splendid cocktail of jazz, creole, Mardi Gras and voodoo captured the heart of America's most famous movie mogul.

So  when in 2005 cartoon king Walt's favourite place was almost wiped off the face of the Earth by Hurricane Katrina, Disney execs decided to pull out all the stops to save it from the swamp.

The US government dragged its heels, apparently happy to let more than half the population decamp to Texas to escape the flood water that covered 80% of the city and claimed 1,500 lives. But within days Disney chiefs had pledged stranded citizens their help in rebuilding this gem of the Deep South.

Click here now for amazing deals to New Orleans!

Five years on and Disney's plot to save New Orleans has gone into overdrive with this week's release of the movie giant's first hand drawn feature-length cartoon in six years - set entirely in the Big Easy. The Princess And The Frog, starring the voices of chat show queen Oprah Winfrey and John Goodman, is an animated musical box office smash earning multiple award nominations.

At the movie launch producer John Lasseter admitted Disney's main aim in basing it in the city was to bring back the tourists, who once provided 40% of its income.

Many of the locations featured in the film and accompanying smash hit Nintendo DS game were hand-drawn by animators at the scene, creating a movie tourist trail that's inspiring visitors to return.

When I touched down at the splendidly named Louis Armstrong Airport I had my first clue to the vast array of musical delights that lay ahead. I transferred to Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, a two-minute stroll from the famous French Quarter, and passed the infamous Superdome football stadium, site of countless atrocities and violence as citizens sheltered inside from the storm. Now, I realised, it is once more just the home for weekend games of a resurgent Saints team.

And the city itself, nestling by the muddy waters of the Mississippi, is back to its scintillating best.
The main tourist area downtown escaped the worst of the flooding, leaving the old style hotels, restaurants and jazz clubs of the French Quarter alive and kicking.

A late-night stroll along Bourbon Street gives a taste of the laid-back southern attitude that seeps through New Orleans, a place that delivers on its motto "Let The Good Times Roll".

Want incredible deals to New Orleans? Click here now...

Live bands knock out jazz, blues, cajun, soul, R'n'B, and country music in clubs on every block - squeezed between daiquiri bars, restaurants, and establishments that won't make it into a children's cartoon.

My first stop was a creole cooking class with celebrity chef Frank Brightsen.

He runs them at the House On Bayou Road, a former plantation property dating back to 1798 in the heart of the city that now serves as a guest house.

"Food is life in New Orleans, " he announced sternly. "We don't do Weightwatchers!" And boy, was he right.

Frank's three-hour tutorial on how to make okra gumbo, chicken creole, andouille sausage jambalaya and white chocolate bread pudding is a must, largely because you then eat the lot.

The last thing I fancied afterwards was dinner, but seeing as it was being served on the Steamboat Natchez as it trundled up and down the Mississippi I wasn't going to miss out.

The next morning I was in need of a bargain breakfast and found one at Café Du Monde in Decatur Street.
This 24-hour French market coffee stand only serves two things, the Louisiana state doughnut, called a beignet, and coffee with a hint of chicory.

Both must be pretty special because the place has survived on the twin-item menu since 1862. After a sneak preview of The Princess And The Frog at the New Orleans Museum Of Art, which is hosting a must-see exhibition of Disney artworks until March, I headed to experience the Louisiana wilderness featured in the film.

I stayed at Nottaway, the largest remaining sugarcane plantation mansion in the south tucked behind a white picket fence on the banks of the Mississippi.

It dates back to 1859 and has just undergone a multi million-pound refit to convert it into a boutique hotel that's worth the 10-hour flight from the UK on its own. It is the perfect location from which to explore the spectacular plantation houses lining the river.

The Mardi Gras museum, which catalogues the history of the annual street carnival, is also a must, as is the Royal Sonesta Hotel, where I caught legendary jazz trumpeter Irvin Mayfield's foot-stomping show.
This was followed by another 5am Bourbon Street experience before I nipped into Brennan's on Royal Street for breakfast and left three hours later.

No wonder New Orleans is called The Big Easy - it's very easy to get big!

The Princess And The Frog video game from Disney Interactive Studios is out now on the Nintendo Wii for £39.99 and Nintendo DS for £29.99.


GETTING THERE:

Fly from Gatwick to New Orleans from £406 with Delta. To book call 0845 600 0950 or visit delta.com.
Where to stay: Rooms at the Sheraton New Orleans cost £133. To book call +1 504 525 2500 or visit sheratonneworleans.com.

Royal Sonesta Hotel, Bourbon Street, New Orleans. See sonesta.com/royalneworleans or call +1 504 586 0300.

Things to do: Steamboat Natchez, cruise and dinner costs £39. To book call +1 504 586 8777 or log on to steamboatnachez.com

House of Blues, Decatur Street. See houseofblues.com or call +1 504 310 4999.

Palm Court Jazz Café, Decatur Street. Call +1 504 525 0200 or visit palmcourtjazzcafe.com.

The House On Bayou Road cookery class on Bayou Road, costs £92. See houseonbayouroad.com or call +1 504 945 0992.

Café Brasil, Chartres Street: Call +1 504 949 0851.

Arnaud's, Rue Bienville: See arnauds.com or call +1 504 523 5433. New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park, New Orleans. See noma.org or call +1 504 658 4100.

Disney Dreams Come True.

Admission is £9.88 per adult.

The Nottoway Plantation, Louisiana Highway 1 (off The Great River Road), White Castle. Call on +1 225 545 2730 or see nottoway.com

Daily rate for a room in the mansion is £163.67. Tour of the mansion and grounds is £12.35 per adult.

Laura Plantation, Highway 18, Vacherie: Call +1 225 265 7690 or visit lauraplantation.com.