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This Way to Walley World: 3 Ways to Recreate a Griswold Family Vacation

Sep 27, 2017

See recent posts by Cynthia J. Drake

Can’t get enough of Cousin Eddie? Do you dream of racing Christie Brinkley in a red Ferrari? Can you quote every line of the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies?

We pulled together a list of destinations that the goofy Griswold family undertook over the course of the Vacation films , from a cross-country road trip in the 1983 National Lampoon’s Vacation to European Vacation in 1985 and Vegas Vacation in 1997. (In 1989’s Christmas Vacation , the family opted for a staycation at their suburban Chicago home).

It’s thanks to Clark (played by Chevy Chase), Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), two randomly changing actors that played their kids Russell and Audrey, plus an entourage of wacky characters, that we know about the real “joys” of American family trips. So throw on your Walley World T-shirts , tell Aunt Edna you’re ready, and take the long way down the “Holiday Road.”

National Lampoon’s Vacation

What Happened: In the film that launched the series, the Griswolds embark upon a cross-country road trip from their home in Chicago to Walley World, a fictitious theme park in California. Clark trades in his car for a clunky, wood-paneled station wagon to prepare for the 2,000-mile trip, with a stop along the way to see Cousin Eddie.

If You Want to Go Many of the Griswolds’ sightseeing diversions are still among Americans’ favorite family summer travel hotspots. For example: the St. Louis Arch (Audrey: “Dad, can we go up on it?” Clark: “No.”) and the Grand Canyon (“the biggest [expletive] hole in the world,” according to Pa Griswold).

To round out your National Lampoon itinerary, stop at the Long Branch Saloon , a Wild West saloon in Dodge City, Kansas, where you can order up a sarsparilla and watch a cheesy Old West gunfight. Bunk down for the night in the real-life Riverbend Resort in South Fork, Colorado, called “Kamp Komfort” in the film.

As for Walley World, the film pays homage to Disneyland with its “Marty Moose” mascot, but it was actually filmed on location at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles. That’s where the Griswolds show up to a park that is closed for repairs and proceed to engage in a very family-friendly hostage-taking scenario. ( Pro Tip: Check for closures before you trade in your family car).

National Lampoon’s European Vacation

What Happened The Griswold family participates in the “Pig in a Poke” game show and against all odds, wins the grand prize, an all-expenses paid trip to Europe . They journey from London to Paris , Germany and Rome , leaving a path of destruction and international hijinx behind them.

If You Want to Go Seasoned travelers may have already ticked these spots off their list: Big Ben, Parliament (which the Griswolds see over and over again while stuck in a roundabout), Stonehenge (miraculously still standing even after Clark backed into it with his car) and the Eiffel Tower.

An off-the-beaten-path Griswold tour would also include the small town of Brixen, a medieval town in South Tyrol, Italy, near the Austrian border, which was actually cast as the “German” hamlet in which the Griswolds are supposed to meet up with Clark’s relatives. They end up inviting themselves into the house of strangers who serve them a hot meal and listen to them babble. Maybe you’ll get the same result with your Airbnb reservation.

Martha Gillespie of Ashtabula, Ohio, took her family to Europe in 2015 to duplicate the National Lampoon’s itinerary as much as possible—complete with embroidered name berets for her husband and adult children. Their trip included London, Paris, Oktoberfest in Munich and Rome.

“Spending two and a half weeks with our grown sons and one of our daughters in law was a wonderful experience,” says Gillespie. “The look on their faces when I whipped out the hats right before we left to see the Eiffel Tower was the best. After my ‘mom look,’ they reluctantly put them on and then immediately took them off after we asked a stranger to take our picture.”

National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation

What Happened The last of the quartet of original Vacation films starring Chase and D’Angelo, Vegas Vacation features the foursome flying to Sin City for a vacation filled with gambling—and the return of Cousin Eddie, who has conveniently relocated to Nevada. Audrey and Rusty, now older teens, engage in a bit of debauchery of their own before the family learns a tough lesson in togetherness and rides off into the sunset, each with brand new cars.

If You Want to Go

Book your stay at The Mirage , where the Griswolds stayed in adjoining rooms—at least until Rusty started hitting the jackpot and upgraded to a penthouse suite. Take a side trip to the Hoover Dam (but please stay on the dam tour, unlike Clark). The “cheap casino” where Eddie takes Clark to play games like Rock-Paper-Scissors and Coin Toss is the Klondike Sunset Casino . And you can renew your vows like Clark and Ellen at the Chapel of the Bells . You can even take a tour of Wayne Newton’s home in Vegas, Casa de Shenandoah (duet opportunity with Newton not included).

Cynthia J. Drake is a travel writer based in Austin, Texas, where she lives with her husband and two sons. Since becoming a mom, she’s been stranded at sea with her family, gotten lost in the Rocky Mountains, dealt with more than her fair share of public vomiting, and still can’t wait for the next trip. She writes regularly for AAA magazines, Austin American-Statesman, Texas Highways and Cruise Critic. Follow her on Facebook  and  Twitter .

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Griswolds Route 66 Road Trip

by Steve Griswold | Jun 21, 2014 | Griswold Family Vacations News | 3 comments

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After a great deal of consideration and planning we have put together the classic family road trip vacation.  We are packing up the Griswold Family truckster and traveling across America.  Our road trip will take us from Atlanta GA to  Los Angeles CA over ten days and countless “Are we there yet” chants from Amber and Brooke. We will be stopping at unique family destinations like The Big Texan to take the 72 oz steak challenge, the Cadillac Ranch to doodle and show off our artist skills on the ten Cadillac sculpture, spend the night in a Wigwam at the Wigwam Motel, and of course seeing the Grand Canyon. The road trip will take 10 days to complete and we will be driving in an exact replica of the Griswold Family Truckster, like in the National Lampoon Vacation movie, from Atlanta GA to Los Angeles CA.

The Family Truckster that we will be driving is a 1984 Ford LTD Country Squire.  It’s your classic station wagon that everyone remembers sitting in the wayback as a child and looking out the window as the road goes by.

The biggest concern is will we make it?  10 days on Route 66 is a long time in the heat of summer with such an old original car.  But we think the truckster is up for it and we are up for the adventure.

Our road trip will start in Atlanta GA at Six Flags Over Georgia for a fun filled day at the park.  Summer time and roller coasters, funnel cakes, and smiles just go together and it’s a perfect way to start our Summer vacation.

We will then be heading on Route 66, which none of us have ever been on before, and we are very excited to see all the classic tourist attractions, diners, and hotels along the way.

Of course we will be going to Walley World (Six Flags Magic Mountain) to ride Colossus, the wooden roller coaster that is in the Griswold “Vacation” movie.  Colossus is closing in August so we will be there to say farewell and ride the wooden coaster one last time.

Please come along with us on our road trip, it’s going to be loads of fun. We will be posting our road trip adventure LIVE as it happens on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Also at the conclusion of our road trip we will be putting together some fun Griswold webisodes that you can watch right here on our www.GriswoldFamilyVacations.com website.

See you on Route 66.  July 20-30, 2014

Griswold Vacation – Across America Part 5

On this Griswold Vacation Road Trip we stop at the Grand Canyon at the El Tovar Lodge just like in the National Lampoons Vacation Movie. We then drive over to Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In on Historic Route 66 and get a little ice cream while meeting everyone in this small town that inspired Pixar to create the Cars Films and Radiator Springs. We then took the most amazing drive on our 3,000 mile trip across America on Route 66 to CA. Yea it was a little scary being the only car for hours out in the desert with nothing around, but we saw some of the most amazing views and the inspiration for the Pixar Cars movie.

Griswold Vacation – Across America Part 4

It was going to happen, but I was hopeful that the truckster would only break down once during our 10 day road trip across America. We head to Santa Rosa New Mexico and also the Wigwam Motel #6 in this episode on our Griswold Family Vacation.

Road Trip – Across America Part 3

We are off to Amarillo Texas to our next Griswold Vacation road trip stop, the Big Texan. We spent the night at the Big Texan Hotel and had an amazing steak dinner. We also did the 72 oz steak eating challenge. This was one of the highlights of our ten day trip across America. Bobby and his team at the Big Texan are the friendliest folks you are ever gong to meet and we were instantly part of their family. If you are traveling across Route 66 this is a must do! Say Hi to Bobby and the folks for us.

The Big Texas Steak Ranch: http://www.bigtexan.com

Road Trip – Across America Part 2

We head from Pop’s Soda Stand on Route 66 on our last episode to Amarillo Texas to express our creative side at the Cadillac Ranch. Yes you get to spray paint Cadillacs. We also met up with our friends from CCN and CCTV to help with their Explore America Route 66 Television series.

Road Trip – Across America Part 1

The Real Life Griswolds road trip from Atlanta GA to Los Angeles CA to Wally World. On this journey we stop in Memphis TN at the Madison Hotel, Tour Elvis’ mansion at Graceland and head to Oklahoma City, Arcadia to POPS soda shop. We also take in some fun road side attractions along the way.

Have you been on a family road trip across the USA with your kids? I would love to hear about your travel adventures. Please share your family road trip memories here with all of us.

We’re hoping to take this route tomorrow from Atlanta to Los Angeles! Any suggestions for making it a four day trip out? We have a sixteen yr old boy.

Hi, Latonia,

Sorry, just saw your comment. I hope you had a great road trip. For future trips I would get the RoadTripper App. It’s free and shows you all sorts of fun tourist attractions, resorts, and unique places to dine.

Have a great day Steve

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

• Family Road Trip – The Best USA Road Trip for Kids | Real Life Griswold Family Road Trips Across America | Griswold Family Vacations - […] Here are our Griswold Family Vacation Road Trip Videos. Most of these videos are us traveling with our kids…
• Griswold Family Road Trips | Real Life Griswold Family Road Trips Across America | Griswold Family Vacations - […] We are hitting the road this Summer and taking a road trip across America on Route 66.  Our journey…
• Vacation Movie Behind the scenes Part 2 | Real Life Griswold Family Road Trips Across America | Griswold Family Vacations - […] across America from GA to CA to ride Colossus from the original Vacation movie.  You can see that road…

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National Lampoon's vacation film series.

1. Vacation

2. National Lampoon's European Vacation

3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

4. Vegas Vacation

5. Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure

6. Hotel Hell Vacation

7. Vacation

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