No, we’re not talking about the fictional family as depicted in the 1983 road-trip comedy film “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”
No, this is a real-life family in Georgia that has Griswold as its surname. Better yet, Steve and Lisa Griswold took a 1984 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon and modified it to look exactly like the ultra-ugly and fuel-inefficient Family Truckster as shown in the movie.
The Griswolds recently announced they’re taking the Truckster and their two daughters on a Route 66 road trip from July 20 to July 30, with the final destination of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, to ride the Colossus, the wooden roller coaster depicted in the Wally World amusement park in “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” The Griswolds hope to be at Six Flags Magic Mountain by July 31, which is the 31st anniversary of the movie. Alas, the Colossus is scheduled to be closed for good in August.
The Griswolds posted on their website:
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. […]
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.
We want to surprise you with the stops we will be making along the way, but I can say we will be stopping at the Grand Canyon, and some historic spots, and some new more modern Route 66 attractions. […]
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.
The Griswolds ought to make sure Magic Mountain is open first:
“National Lampoon’s Vacation” was based on “Vacation ’58,” a short story by John Hughes.
What a nice adventure for you especially never having traveled the route before. 2 high classmates just made that journey as far as Winslow AZ with a dip down into other parts of that state before returning to KS & MO. Have a great trip! Will be thinking of you! I’ve been on it many many times over the years – much of which as you’ll see, is now I-40. You’ll have a ball. Be safe!