George is an uptight surgeon with a rebellious teenage son. Edith is a free spirit with an overachieving teenage daughter. When they meet during an admissions tour with their kids at the small, idyllic Middleton University, they decide to ditch the group. Though adversaries at first, they soon discover that the only thing better than the college tour, is the detour.

"An average American family", the Middletons, visit the 1939 World's Fair and witnesses the advent of future technology, encountering robots and dishwashers for the first time.