In the summer of 1983, the cinematic world welcomed Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, who took his family on an adventurous cross-country trip from Chicago to the fictional LA amusement park “Walley World”, billed as “America’s Favorite Family Fun Park”, in their notorious Wagon Queen Family Truckster. That was the classic comedy film and box office hit, “National Lampoon’s Vacation”.
In the summer of 2013, on the 30th anniversary of the motion picture, the real-life Griswold family packed their belongings in a Wagon Queen Family Truckster replica and headed for an amusement park – not Walley World, but Disney World in Florida.
And yes, Griswold is their real name, and yes, people often made funny remarks about it. After hearing one too many National Lampoon-style jokes, Steve and Lisa Griswold, who are travel agents in Canton, Georgia, and frequent Walt Disney World guests, decided to have the last laugh by following in the footsteps of the fictional characters of the movie.
Their next step was to obtain a Wagon Queen Family Truckster, which in reality was a Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon customized by the famed George Barris, creator of the 1966 Batmobile and other iconic film and television. A tuning shop in Georgia took care of that finishing the build in just two weeks. The car comes with wood paneling, a gas fuel cap on the hood, an extended luggage rack on the roof and a “metallic pea” finish. Some modern additions to keep the Griswold’s two young daughters entertained during the trip were a DVD player and Bluetooth.
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