Arthur's New Old Vacation

Summary
Arthur and Buster try to make the family vacation more exciting.

Plot
Mrs. Read's station wagon is taken away so the family can get a new one: Arthur remarks that sometimes we can get tired of the things we love, including his sweater and the Dark Bunny movies. The Reads get a new minivan from Crosswire Motors, just in time for their annual trip to Codpocket Beach. Arthur is a little disappointed as he is tired of going there.

Buster tells Arthur about Dead Man's Cove, a new pirate-themed amusement park, which is full of rides and attractions that he would love. Learning that Buster and his mother are going, Arthur tries to convince his family to change their plans and go there, but they all prefer to go to Codpocket. Ladonna, who has been to Dead Man's Cove, suggests that he change their minds by showing them all the cool things there. He gauges what they're interested in: his father likes good food, his mother likes swimming, his sister likes toys, and his baby sister does not have enough memories (not to mention communication skills) to say. Arthur manages to change his father's mind about the fancy restaurants at the park, but the rest of the family is still not interested.

Ladonna suggests that Arthur get D.W.'s vote by sweetening the deal: give her something she wants. He suggests that they spend one whole day going somewhere of D.W.'s desire: She, naturally, switches things around so that they only spend one day at Dead Man's Cove, and the rest of the trip at Unicornia, a theme park full of things she's interested in. Arthur manages to renegotiate the deal, so they spend three days at Dead Man's Cove and three days at Unicornia.

Unfortunately, just as they are getting ready to go, Buster discovers that Dead Man's Cove has shut down: the owners turned out to be actual pirates that stole all the money and left the country. The Reads ultimately decide to use the three days they would have had at Dead Man's Cove to go to Codpocket again, along with Buster and his mother. Arthur is disappointed at first, but soon he and Buster find an equipment rental room with a ping pong table; finding no ping pong equipment, they use a whiffle ball and a pair of flippers instead. Arthur decides that he is happy to come again next year.

Characters

 * Arthur Read
 * Brain
 * Bitzi Baxter
 * Buster Baxter
 * Dark Bunny
 * David Read
 * D.W. Read
 * Ed Crosswire
 * Fluff McGuffin
 * George Lundgren
 * General Higgins
 * Jane Read
 * Kate Read
 * Ladonna Compson
 * Monique
 * Pal
 * Sharky
 * Tufton Sinclair
 * Uni

Trivia

 * 4th Wall Break: Arthur shares to the viewers his feelings on how we can get tired of the things we love.
 * Timeline: Ladonna Compson is in Elwood City again despite having moved away in "When Duty Calls". The lack of explanation implies that this episode takes place before then.
 * This episode marks the final appearance of Mrs. Read's station wagon, as it is scrapped in this episode. This episode also technically marks the official debut of the Read family minivan, although it has been seen in episodes and specials prior to this one as early as "The Feud."

Errors

 * When the Reads have a family vote on where they want to go on vacation the first time, Arthur's white shirt collar briefly goes missing in the scene where he raises his hand when he wants to go to Dead Man's Cove.
 * Mr. Read's hair goes missing for a few seconds when he tells D.W. that they have to vote on changing the vacation plans after Arthur finds out that Dead Man's Cove is shut down.
 * When Arthur is talking on his walkie-talkie to Buster in the Reads' minivan, the Baxters' car is driving on the left side of the road (viewer's right) instead of on the right side (viewer's left) in two scenes.

Home video
DVD: Believe in Yourself!