National Lampoon's Vacation

Other mistake: During the scene when Clark is driving his family through the "rough part" of town in St. Louis, Clark asks his children if they are noticing all of the plight. Clark then makes the comment, "This will just make us appreciate what we have." A gunshot and a scream is heard, and Clark exclaims, "Roll 'em up!" A window is visible on Ellen's side of the car as she is rolling her window, up . But, there is no window on Clark's side of the car. Clark goes through the motions of rolling up his window, but . In actuality, he is rolling up nothing. Chevy Chase mentioned this during the cast commentary for the film. (00:13:50)

Other mistake: When Clark falls asleep at the wheel, right after the guy with the grocery bags moves out of the way, if you look closely in the driver's seat, you can see a man with his hands firmly on the wheel, fully awake. Right before this happens, the focus is on Clark sleeping.

Other mistake: When Clark and the gang force the security guard onto the "screaming meemy" roller coaster, it starts to roll with no-one operating the controls.

eaglegrad16

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Every ride they ride would be a mistake as there was nobody to operate any of them.

lartaker1975

Other mistake: In the first gas station scene, Ellen directs Clark to the gas tank opening which Clark has thus far been unable to locate. Despite being a brand-new car, the inside of the gas tank lid is completely rusted.

KG Byrd

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: The car isn't brand-new. Clark ordered a new car, but it wasn't ready, so he was forced to buy the used station wagon, which was a 1979 model.

Bishop73

I don't recall any mention of either the specific car year or that the car is older, just that it's the wrong model.

KG Byrd

Revealing mistake: In the early part of the film, Beverly D'Angelo and Chevy Chase check into the hotel/motel. She goes in to take a shower but he barges in. If you look real closely, she is wearing underpants and is not nude although she is taking a shower.

More mistakes in National Lampoon's Vacation

Cousin Vicki: I'm going steady, and I French kiss.
Audrey Griswold: So? Everybody does that.
Cousin Vicki: Yeah, but Daddy says I'm the best at it.

More quotes from National Lampoon's Vacation
More trivia for National Lampoon's Vacation

Question: I've always found it odd that although Wallyworld is closed, the car park is still open and accessible. Is this normal for closed US parks, or could it be considered a goof?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: The parking lot is huge. There's really not any way to close the lot itself, but even if there were gates, Clark would probably have been oblivious to them by then.

More questions & answers from National Lampoon's Vacation

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.