Disneyland Paris has unveiled a range of events and new characters as part of its New Generation Festival. TTG’s Charlotte Walsh visited the park to check out what’s on offer

A new princess, a lively dance show and a train packed with well-known, fun-loving characters have all been added at Disneyland Paris as part of its New Generation Festival. The festival runs from April 2 until March 2011, and has been designed to celebrate characters who have not been in the spotlight before, as well as welcoming a raft of newcomers. They include the stars of WALL-E, Monsters, Inc, Toy Story, The Incredibles, Lilo & Stitch and The Princess and the Frog. As the festival is only on for a year, it provides a great sales hook to promote the park to both seasoned Disney fans and new visitors. Find out how to sell the attractions with TTG’s handy guide:

The Showtime Spectacular

Where: The Castle Stage, Disneyland Park

What’s new? This show was created from scratch for the New Generation Festival, and sees Mickey and Minnie introduce all their new friends. This full-scale production takes place in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle, with impressive choreography and fun songs. All the New Generation characters have a segment of the show where they meet Mickey and Minnie and the songs relate to the theme of their movies. The Showtime Spectacular (pictured below) introduces some stars for the first time, including Mike Wazowski and Boo from Monsters, Inc and the Ratatouille characters.

How to sell it: Disney fans won’t want to miss this. The songs are ridiculously catchy and the dance moves wouldn’t look out of place in a musical, so it is likely to prove popular with children and adults alike. It’s performed on a raised stage for easy viewing, so it’s great for smaller children.

The Stars ’n’ Cars Parade

Where: The Production Courtyard, Walt Disney Studios Park

What’s new? The parade was added last year and characters are driven along in customised cars before performing a musical routine. For the festival it includes Remy and Emile, two rats with a love of food from the 2007 film Ratatouille. Despite essentially being huge furry rats the duo are treated like royalty by children and adults alike as they sign autographs and pose for photos. Their car has a tower of saucepans swaying precariously on the back, and they lead a section of the dance routine where all dancers and characters don chef hats and perform the can-can.

How to sell it: There are about 20 characters in this parade, so customers should get to the front early to scoop up autographs from the likes of Mickey, Minnie, Stitch, Snow White, and of course those popular newcomers Remy and Emile.

The Once Upon a Dream Parade

Where: The Castle Stage/Main Street, Disneyland Park

What’s new? This daily parade has been running for a few years but now includes Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from last year’s The Princess and the Frog. Princess fans will be pleased to note that Tiana has a sparkly green dress just like the one she wears in the movie, made from 20 metres of crystal fabric. Many guests visit the park primarily to watch the parades and this one certainly doesn’t disappoint, with huge vibrant floats, catchy songs and troops of dancers to keep youngsters entertained.

How to sell it: Disney hasn’t added a princess to its family for a couple of years, so there is a lot of hype surrounding Tiana, who is also the first black Disney princess. As well as featuring in the parade, she appears around the park for photo and autograph opportunities, and is often greeted by a gaggle of little girls – perfect for families with younger daughters.

The Disney All Star Express

Where: The Castle Stage/Main Street, Disneyland Park

What’s new? This is an entirely new parade, where characters pull into the park in a colourful train. They burst in with a catchy song and mingle with guests, much to the delight of the waiting children. Disney acknowledges that guests always want more opportunities to meet and greet characters and the All Star Express provides an opportunity to see many of the newer characters, including The Incredibles, WALL-E and stars of  Toy Story.

How to sell it: It’s another chance for children to gasp as their favourite character comes over for a cuddle and a photo opportunity, plus little boys love the fact that the characters arrive on a train.

Monsters, Inc.  Scream Academy

Where: Toon Studio, Walt Disney Studios Park

What’s new? The Scream Academy is tucked away on the exterior of the huge Studio One hall and includes a backdrop from the 2002 film, which is great for photos. Monsters Sulley and Mike turn up at set times each day to meet guests and pose for photos. Guests can also visit the Scream Academy to holler into Scream Monitors, which register their volume. This will invariably be popular with children, who can also pick up an “I screamed with Sulley” sticker.

How to sell it: Monsters, Inc has a loyal fan base and monster lovers will definitely be tempted to use the Scream Monitor. Some of the bigger Walt Disney Studios Park attractions can draw long queues, so this is a nice interlude in between rides.