Tourist Trapped

Dipper then narrates the episode from the part where the twins' parents decided to send them to Gravity Falls, Oregon, where their great-uncle Stan lives.

Dipper was anxious about spending his entire summer working for his "Grunkle" in the Mystery Shack (a tourist trap and gift shop).

However, as he hangs signs in the forest to promote the Mystery Shack at Stan's request, he stumbles onto a rusty machine hidden in a tree, which opens a secret compartment.

Shocked by the fact that Norman is actually a bunch of gnomes, he manages to rescue Mabel by knocking Jeff over with a shovel.

Club gave "Tourist Trapped" a B+ rating, praising its "mature" feel in comparison to other animated series for children (bringing inspiration from The Simpsons, The X-Files, and Twin Peaks), the show's art style, along with the use of its paranormal themes for comedy: specifically citing a scene where Mabel is seen hoping that her "zombie" boyfriend Norman was a vampire (playing off the popularity of the Twilight series), followed by the "wonderfully absurd" reveal that Norman was actually a group of gnomes.

Wilkins felt that Mabel was "a goofy, happy-go-lucky preteen" with a level of enthusiasm that helped support many of the gags surrounding her in the episode and that she acted within the mindset of an actual 12-year-old in her dialogue as well.

Jason Ritter's performance as Dipper was also praised for giving the character a panicked and suspicious view on the world around him, but it was noted that his voice sounded too old to be a 12-year-old.