Bart and his friends tell their parents that they are going to Canada for a grammarcompetition. They instead use the rented car for a road trip to the 1982 World's Fair at Knoxville, Tennessee. However, the world fair happened 14 years ago and only a wigshop is still there. They all buy wigs and Martin uses the last money they have on a doll of Al Gore. Nelson knocks down the Sunsphere, which destroys their car. They are left being stuck in Knoxville.
Lisa uses her time during spring break at the power plant. Bart places a collect call on Lisa to help him and his friends return home without having Homer and Marge know. Bart becomes a courier but does not get enough money to go home. Principal Skinner sees Bart in Hong Kong while being a courier. Lisa makes Homer promise that he will not get angry about Bart, so she tells Homer where Bart is. Homer orders a new console for the power plant from Oak Ridge so Bart can get home. He gets it shipped near Knoxville, where Bart is still a courier. Nelson, Milhouse, and Martin hide in a crate.
Marge does not know about any of this and gets confused when she gets phone calls on what Bart has done.
Reception
John Thorpe of Central Michigan Life called it the 8th best episode of The Simpsons.[3] Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict gave the episode a grade of B+ and thought that the best part of the episode was Patty and Selma telling Bart about their job, saying "Somedays we don't let the line move at all. We call those weekdays."[4] Robert Canning of IGN calls the episode "outstanding" and says that "it's the way everything comes together that really makes it memorable."[5] Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said that he loved the children at their parents' jobs and said "when they head out of town, the fun continues."[6]
