I know it would probably ruin the fun and plot of the movie, but they're in southern California. Couldn't Clark instead have just taken his family to one of the other dozen amusement parks in the region (Disneyland, Knotts, Six Flags, etc.)if Walley World was closed rather than buying a bb gun and going nuts? On the other hand, I guess at that point in the trip he wasn't exactly at his most sane and rational.
shareThey could've, but it wouldn't have been as funny.
They didn't call the park first to make sure it would be open, just goes to show you how backwards they are.
I"m not sure how fun the fictional Wally World would be but I can tell you that King's Island is a million times better than Disney World. And Cincinnati is a hell of a lot closer to Chicago than California is.
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I did sixty in five minutes once...
Yeah probably could have but after all the hassle of getting there and all the things that went wrong, he snapped.
shareEven though it doesn't look it from the movie (it just looks like another run-of-the-mill amusement park), Walley World is supposed to be the equivalent of Disney World. So there's really not another one like it in the area. It would be like Disney World being closed, and going to Busch Gardens instead. Just not the same.
shareI'm not sure how fun the fictional Wally World would be but I can tell you that King's Island is a million times better than Disney World.
Um, no King's Island is a million times better than Disney. Plus consider the fact Rusty and Audry weren't five years old.
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I did sixty in five minutes once...
You don't have to be 5yrs old to enjoy Disney...
Disney is made for people from 1 to 100.
It serves alcohol, it has very well themed rides, and it takes DAYS to see & do everything because the park is so large.
In contrast, Kings Island has around 350 acres, but roughly 35 is for the waterpark.
Compare that to Disney which has 30,080 acres... yeah, add a couple zeros to your Kings Island. It includes not only the resort, but Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, & Animal Kingdom... it would take DAYS to see everything. Kings Island can be done in 1-day.
That's why Disney has had nearly 17.1 million visitors, NOT 5yr olds & their parents, mind you... but everybody of all ages (not to mention 16+ million @ DisneyLAND in CA)... while your Kings Island has had just a mere 3.1 million (tied w/ Cedar Point). Although okay by amusement park standards... if it were anything near "million times better", then wouldn't there be many millions more attending the park vs. Disney's USA parks?
No because Orlando vs Cincinnati is no comparison to the amount of visitors it can hold. King's Island does have attractions for kids but as mentioned, Rusty and Audry weren't little kids. Plus KI has The Beast which is by far the best roller coaster on earth (not that I've ridden them all) and don'[t forget Chicago is a hell of a lot closer to Cincy than it is to California where Wally World is.
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I did sixty in five minutes once...
Been to both parks, King's Island and Disney World. Heck, Disneyland for that matter too. King's Island is one of the best, and it is actually close to Cedar Point in so many ways because it has a little more character to it, I think. But come on, Disney is Disney. You can't duplicate that experience at Universal Studios let alone King's Island.
shareCedar Point is on my bucket list. It looks great. Have you been to Kennywood in Pittsburgh? I went once 25 years ago or so. I'd like to go back.
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I did sixty in five minutes once...
For myself, I don't care about the theming at all. I'm after the core experience. The theming is just extra padding that gets in the way.
shareWhen I went back in 1987, there were several options here in Florida. You had Disneyland, MGM Studios, Epcot, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios (opened in 1990), and a slew of other theme parks to choose from.
As for the OP: There would be no Vacation movie if they just simply went to a local theme park. The whole movie was about their experience as a whacky family going on a road trip.
Plus, we wouldn't have had that awesome running scene! And, the fact that he punched the moose when he finally found out it was closed had me laughing hysterically for about five minutes straight.
I doubt the reboot/remake will ever top this classic movie.
A big amusement park like that would never close for 2 weeks in the summer. I don't think they would close for 2 weeks period let alone during their busy season. And I agree, they could have gone someplace else since they were by the other amusement parks.
Now how lame of an ending would that have been? The whole movie was about getting to Walley World and then to find it closed...it was the only way this movie could have ended.
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Disneyland is an iconic theme park. I have heard of Knott's Berry Farm, but don't know much about it. I have been to Six Flags in Jackson, NJ. I didn't even know there was a Six Flags in Southern California.
shareSix Flags Magic Mountain is in Southern California. In fact it is the flagship Six Flags amusement park with the most roller coasters in the world
shareSix flags is the park they went to, renamed Wally World for the movie. They should have heard it was closed once they got to the area but there are many nearer to Chicago. I hope to go to Cedar Point and King's Island eventually.
shareThe script originally called for Disneyland as the Griswolds' destination, but Disney objected, pointing out that they are open 365 days a year.
Wally world was a metaphor for disney.
If disney World shut down for a week, there is no other amusement park.
History is written by the victors.
Its funny how the Griswolds just didnt go to Six Flags Great America which was already in Illinois and basically was the exact same park as Walley World...but then again, maybe Great America dosent exsist in the 'Vacation' universe.
'When there's no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.'
I take it you never went on a road trip with your family. It's a much more exciting vacation to drive somewhere far away than to just head to somewhere an hour or so away. Growing up in NJ we would go to Six Flags and it was great, but going to Disney World? That's a real adventure. We always flew and never did a road trip, but doing it in a car would've been memorable.
shareSo by that rationale, if Great America existed in the "Vacationverse", it still would've been better for them to go cross country to the exact same park they didn't even have to leave the state they live in for?
Ultimately, I do get it. As far as the movie itself is concerned, Clark just wanted to show his family a good time altogether and he thought the road trip would be the best way to go about it the destination (Walley World) was just the bonus to him.
When theres no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.share
I am also born and raised in New Jersey. Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park is located in Jackson, New Jersey. Everyone I have ever met from New Jersey calls the park "Great Adventure".
Man that's funny. Yeah we all call it Great Adventure also and always have. I don't know why I said "Six Flags", it sounds strange even saying it now except that I did analytics work for them a few years ago so it might have seeped in that way.
The idea of the movie though is that the trip is half of the fun, the destination is just a goal to aim for but not the point of the trip. I really think these types of trips were much more popular for families during the last generation.
reading these, I just thought of something. what if they had ended it when they get to the closed park and clark drops to his knees and yells, "DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!, like the certain ending of a movie, haha!!!!
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