Have you ever watched the classic comedy movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation” starring Chevy Chase? If you have, then you must remember the iconic scene where the Griswold family arrives at Wally World only to find it closed for maintenance. But have you ever wondered where that Wally World actually was?
Well, let’s start with a bit of background information on the movie. “National Lampoon’s Vacation” was released in 1983 and directed by Harold Ramis. The film follows the misadventures of Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, as he takes his family on a cross-country road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles to visit the fictional amusement park called Wally World.
The film was shot primarily in California and Arizona. However, the scenes at Wally World were filmed at two different locations.
The exterior shots of Wally World were filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. The amusement park had just opened a few years prior to the filming of the movie and was still relatively new.
On the other hand, the interior shots of Wally World were filmed at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Santa Anita Park is a horse racing track located in Los Angeles County and has been used as a filming location for many movies over the years.
Now that we know where Wally World was located, let’s talk about why it was chosen as a filming location. According to an interview with Harold Ramis, he wanted to use Disneyland as the filming location for Wally World but Disney declined due to concerns about how their brand would be portrayed in the film. Six Flags Magic Mountain was then chosen due to its similarity to Disneyland and its willingness to cooperate with filmmakers.
In conclusion, while Wally World may be fictional, its filming locations were very real. The exterior shots were filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia while the interior shots were filmed at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia.
These locations were chosen for their similarities to Disneyland and their willingness to cooperate with filmmakers. So the next time you watch “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, you can impress your friends with your knowledge of where Wally World was actually located!