Regardless, this is a perfect example of an overlooked classic. Hardly a moment goes by when you're not laughing. Those that have found it have to cherish it. Those who found the sloppily tossed together sequel likely sued for a refund. 
While not the movie you’re going to drop into the player to show off new HD equipment, this is still a disappointing transfer. Benefits over the standard DVD are negligible. The print is loaded with dirt and grain. Colors look faded in spots, and overly bright in others. Close ups reveal little or no facial detail.
The transfer looks soft in spots, and crisp in others. There’s no consistency. It’s fair to say you’ve never seen 25,000 Christmas lights with this level of clarity, yet even for a film made in 1989, you can’t help but feel this was slapped together to take advantage of a new format. 
Likewise, the audio falls flat as well. The catchy theme song provides the movie with a brief moment of bass, while the rear speakers remain quiet for the entire run. Minor separation can be detected in light dialogue sequences amongst the three front channels. There’s no advantage here over the Special Edition SD DVD. 
An audio commentary is included here, though Chevy Chase is oddly absent. Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Miriam Flynn, Johnny Galecki, Matty Simmons, and Chechik all get in on this one. This is a carryover from prior releases. They spend a lot of time laughing, but you can't really blame them. They do manage to point out mistakes in the film and Chechik talks plenty about his first-time experience. This is it aside from the trailer, and some deleted scenes do exist, and pictures from there are actually part of the packaging. 
The sequel, Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure, is notable for one reason. It’s the only film to bring back a Griswold kid in their original role. Dana Barron, the daughter from the first Vacation in 1983, returns in a disastrous effort that went straight to TV and then DVD, where unfortunate souls paid to see it.
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