Real Griswolds, car trek to Orlando
The real-life Griswold family Steve (from left), Lisa, Brooke… (Gene Duncan, Walt Disney…)Thirty years after “National Lampoon’s Vacation” premiered in theaters, a genuine family of Griswolds has made a pilgrimage to Disney World in a replica Wagon Queen Family Truckster.
Steve Griswold, his wife, Lisa, and their daughters, Amber and Brooke, motored down late last month from Canton, Ga., in their newly remodeled station wagon that evokes the spirit of the 1983 road-trip movie and serves as an homage to the film’s lead character, Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase.
The nonfiction Griswolds own a travel agency and take a ribbing about sharing a name with a family with very bad vacation luck. “A Griswold is going to plan my vacation?” is a common reaction, they said.
But Steve Griswold said he loved the “Vacation” movies and had always embraced the connection.
“People would always joke about it, but it was always of a fun nature,” he said.
It took six months to re-create Clark’s vehicle, a Ford LTD Country Squire.
“It took a little longer than we thought to buy all the parts and custom-make everything, get the metallic-pea paint and all the headlights and all that,” Steve Griswold said.
The drive down was “just crazy,” he said. “People were taking photos, honking, giving thumbs up and waving,” he said.
The Griswolds, former Disney cast members, are considering a cross-country trip to Disneyland and tying in a promotion to their business, Pixie Vacations. The Orlando trip, the first for their Truckster, garnered media attention, including a pitch for a TV series.
“We’ll see. If it works, it works,” Lisa Griswold said. “I don’t want to turn into Honey Boo-Boo.”
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