Arthur's Family Vacation (episode)

Summary
Instead of going with Buster to Camp Meadowcroak this year, Arthur has to go on a road trip with his family. After a series of misfortunes, the vacation may turn out better than he expected.

Plot
Arthur wants to go back to Camp Meadowcroak with Buster for the summer and tries to get out of the family vacation to the beach. However, after his dad mentions wanting to take them all out for lobster dinner, Arthur decides that maybe the beach will be fun after all. After several impediments — including stinky diapers, traffic jams, and unpleasant pit stops — they finally make it to the beach.

However, the Reads lose their hotel reservation and stay in a leaky, rundown hotel. It also rains a lot. However, matters eventually start to get better when Arthur gets an idea from looking in a rolled-up newspaper (which he had originally planned to go after D.W. with, as she had accidentally hit him on the head while trying to smack a fly). They visit a cow festival, go on a safari, take a tour of Flo's Fudge Factory, and go to see a movie.

On their last day, the sun comes out, and David takes a picture of Arthur burying D.W. in the sand.

When Arthur gets home, he asks Buster how it was at camp. Buster says that camp was okay, until the hurricane hit and pretty much ruined everything.

Major

 * Arthur Read
 * D.W. Read
 * David Read
 * Jane Read
 * Kate Read

Minor

 * Sharky (debut)
 * Buster Baxter
 * Waitress (Diner) (debut)
 * James MacDonald
 * Unknown Male Adult Rabbit (Number 3) (speaking debut)

Cameo

 * Waiter (Lobster Shack) (debut)
 * Bill (dog)
 * Police officer
 * Mr. Sipple

Trivia

 * The man in the movie that the Read family go to see at the movies looks like Arthur's former neighbor Mr. Sipple.
 * This is the only episode written by Thomas LaPierre.
 * A hurricane actually hit Elwood City in "Shelter from the Storm."
 * This is one of a few episodes to feature an extremely rare music track. It can be heard after the traffic jams up. The other episodes are "Brain's Shocking Secret" and "Mr. Alwaysright" from Season 11.

Cultural references

 * The movie shown in the theater is a reference to the 1975 film Jaws.

Episode connections

 * Arthur previously went to Camp Meadowcroak in "Arthur Goes to Camp."

Differences from the book

 * This story takes place shortly after the events of "Arthur Goes to Camp," which also takes place before Arthur starts third grade. In the book, the story starts out on Arthur's last day of school in third grade.
 * In the book, they go to Gatorville.
 * In the episode, they go to a diner for lunch.
 * In the book, Buster says that camp was great and that he missed Arthur, while in the episode, Buster says camp was okay until they got hit by a hurricane.
 * In the book, Kate cries when D.W. announces that the family can't go to the beach because of the rain. In the episode, Kate doesn't cry.

Errors

 * When Arthur buries D.W. in the sand, an umbrella hides his ears, although he is not standing under it.
 * While the Read family was leaving the diner, David was holding a candy bar in one hand while he was driving. In the next few seconds, the candy bar is gone and he has both of his hands on the steering wheel.
 * Sharky's fins change different colors in different scenes.
 * For one second while Arthur said the word "No," his father had the same clothes like him.
 * In the closing scene such as where we see Arthur and Buster in the window, Buster is in his regular clothes instead of his camping outfit.

Home Video
VHS: DVD:
 * Arthur's Family Vacation (VHS)
 * Vive les vacances!
 * Arthur's Family Vacation (DVD)
 * Arthur's Travel Adventures
 * Arthur: The Complete Series One

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