Utah trip then Disneyland?

[disny_luvr]

Hi, everyone!

My family is trying to sort out our vacation plans for next summer. I honestly would like to go to Disney World but I’m kind of losing the battle with my DH and twin sons, who would like to go to Utah to visit the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion. I really need a Disney fix so I thought maybe we could visit Utah and then drive to Disneyland for a day or two before flying home. We did visit CA and Disneyland last summer and we loved every minute of it. We spent three days at the Disneyland parks and could honestly skip DCA this trip and just do one day at Disneyland or we could do two days at Disneyland and hop over to DCA to ride a few of our favorites one of the two days.

I guess my question is, is this doable or am I trying to squeeze too much into this trip? We’d have about 11 days total. My rough itinerary looks like this:

Day 1- Fly to Vegas
Day 2- Drive to Kanab (this would be our home base for the national parks)
Days 3-6- Visit the national parks, maybe Antelope Canyon, too
Day 7- Drive to Anaheim
Days 8-9- Disneyland
Day 10- LA (visit some of the things we didn’t have time to see last summer)
Day 11- Fly home

This is fluid. I could take a day off of Disneyland and add a day to the national parks or even LA. We’d figure that out as we better plan our trip.

We do love national parks and have visited many of them in the last few years and while I totally understand that I’m not giving these national parks the time they deserve, my DH (and I) do really want to take our boys to the Grand Canyon before they leave the nest. They’ll be 20-years-old next summer and we are running out of time.

Thanks for any help!

 

[hardcorestitch]

Hi, everyone!

My family is trying to sort out our vacation plans for next summer. I honestly would like to go to Disney World but I’m kind of losing the battle with my DH and twin sons, who would like to go to Utah to visit the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion. I really need a Disney fix so I thought maybe we could visit Utah and then drive to Disneyland for a day or two before flying home. We did visit CA and Disneyland last summer and we loved every minute of it. We spent three days at the Disneyland parks and could honestly skip DCA this trip and just do one day at Disneyland or we could do two days at Disneyland and hop over to DCA to ride a few of our favorites one of the two days.

I guess my question is, is this doable or am I trying to squeeze too much into this trip? We’d have about 11 days total. My rough itinerary looks like this:

Day 1- Fly to Vegas
Day 2- Drive to Kanab (this would be our home base for the national parks)
Days 3-6- Visit the national parks, maybe Antelope Canyon, too
Day 7- Drive to Anaheim
Days 8-9- Disneyland
Day 10- LA (visit some of the things we didn’t have time to see last summer)
Day 11- Fly home

This is fluid. I could take a day off of Disneyland and add a day to the national parks or even LA. We’d figure that out as we better plan our trip.

We do love national parks and have visited many of them in the last few years and while I totally understand that I’m not giving these national parks the time they deserve, my DH (and I) do really want to take our boys to the Grand Canyon before they leave the nest. They’ll be 20-years-old next summer and we are running out of time.

Thanks for any help!

I think the LA part in my opinion is the only part that I don’t see quite possible. LA traffic is miserable and you’d be back at your hotel late. I would focus on the Anaheim area and find stuff to do there while you’re at Disneyland, including non-Disney stuff. You could remove the LA day entirely from that point and fly home from John Wayne Airport.

 

[China Expat]

Just know the drive from Utah to LA will take a loooong tome. We did it and rolled home here around 1 am. We drove from Moab Utah to Monument valley, spent the night in MV, and drove home from there.

 

[disny_luvr]

I think the LA part in my opinion is the only part that I don’t see quite possible. LA traffic is miserable and you’d be back at your hotel late. I would focus on the Anaheim area and find stuff to do there while you’re at Disneyland, including non-Disney stuff. You could remove the LA day entirely from that point and fly home from John Wayne Airport.

Good things to think about. If we did LA, we’d switch hotels after our time in DL. We did that last year and it worked well. It might depend on where we fly out of, which will be wherever we can get the cheapest flights.

 

[disny_luvr]

Just know the drive from Utah to LA will take a loooong tome. We did it and rolled home here around 1 am. We drove from Moab Utah to Monument valley, spent the night in MV, and drove home from there.

I think I looked and it’s about 7.5 hours. We’ve done long drives before (Rapid City to Cody and Jackson Hole to Estes Park). I’m assuming it’s mostly through desert?

 

[asunutgirl]

The Grand Canyon is in Northern Arizona, not Utah. Not sure what you are planning for the GC but the South Rim where the visitors center is located is about a 3 3/4 hour drive from Kanab. That is a lot of driving if you plan to do it as a day trip. I haven't been to the north rim, which I hear is beautiful, but there is less to do there.

I'd skip Disneyland and focus on the National Parks. Buy a National Parks pass and get the most out of it by visiting both the GC and the parks in Utah. Spend a night or two at the GC. We rented ebikes and it was a great way to explore the entire south rim. Make hotel reservations early near the national parks as they fill up quickly in the summer. Also - get up and get into the parks early. You avoid the heat and the crowds that way. If you don't want to stay in the park, there is a train from Williams, AZ that runs a day trip into the park.

Zion is the most popular national park and it gets very busy in the summer. If you aren't staying in the park, there is a great bus system in Springdale that gets you to the front of the park and then you don't have to fight for a parking spot. Hiking the narrows is popular but it is only accessible if the river is low.

Antelope Canyon (Arizona) is on Navajo Land and you can't enter it without a reservation and a guide. I'd recommend Secret Antelope Canyon. It is a lesser known slot canyon with small tours and less crowds. You can combine that tour with a tour of Horseshoe bend - they will drive you out to the overlook and you avoid the crowds. Those tours leave from Page, Arizona. You can drive there from Kanab or stay in Page.

You might want to consider putting Sedona, AZ on your list as well. Gorgeous red rocks with amazing views. It is about two hours south of the GC. Drive through Flagstaff and take the 89 from Flag to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon. Sedona is only a couple of hours north of Phoenix. You could work your way south from Kanab and fly out of Phoenix.

Plan to drink lots and lots of water. Utah and Arizona are very dry and it is easy to get dehydrated. And don't hike in the heat. Hike in the morning. Enjoy!

 

[citruscurtis]

Where do you live and how do you define summer weather.

 

[disny_luvr]

The Grand Canyon is in Northern Arizona, not Utah. Not sure what you are planning for the GC but the South Rim where the visitors center is located is about a 3 3/4 hour drive from Kanab. That is a lot of driving if you plan to do it as a day trip. I haven't been to the north rim, which I hear is beautiful, but there is less to do there.

I'd skip Disneyland and focus on the National Parks. Buy a National Parks pass and get the most out of it by visiting both the GC and the parks in Utah. Spend a night or two at the GC. We rented ebikes and it was a great way to explore the entire south rim. Make hotel reservations early near the national parks as they fill up quickly in the summer. Also - get up and get into the parks early. You avoid the heat and the crowds that way. If you don't want to stay in the park, there is a train from Williams, AZ that runs a day trip into the park.

Zion is the most popular national park and it gets very busy in the summer. If you aren't staying in the park, there is a great bus system in Springdale that gets you to the front of the park and then you don't have to fight for a parking spot. Hiking the narrows is popular but it is only accessible if the river is low.

Antelope Canyon (Arizona) is on Navajo Land and you can't enter it without a reservation and a guide. I'd recommend Secret Antelope Canyon. It is a lesser known slot canyon with small tours and less crowds. You can combine that tour with a tour of Horseshoe bend - they will drive you out to the overlook and you avoid the crowds. Those tours leave from Page, Arizona. You can drive there from Kanab or stay in Page.

You might want to consider putting Sedona, AZ on your list as well. Gorgeous red rocks with amazing views. It is about two hours south of the GC. Drive through Flagstaff and take the 89 from Flag to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon. Sedona is only a couple of hours north of Phoenix. You could work your way south from Kanab and fly out of Phoenix.

Plan to drink lots and lots of water. Utah and Arizona are very dry and it is easy to get dehydrated. And don't hike in the heat. Hike in the morning. Enjoy!

Thank you for the information! It’s very helpful and gives me lots to think about.

 

[disny_luvr]

Where do you live and how do you define summer weather.

We live in PA where we just had five days of real feel temps of 105°+ and high humidity.

 

[citruscurtis]

So some direction about summer in the southwest.. first I spent 46 years of summer in Oregon and they were great... now I have spent the last 6 summers in Arizona.. first 4 were great July 4th to labor day.. now our summer starts mid May and will not end till late October...108-118

I share this because folks decade or more ago who visited a SW summer will share about a summer visit... that is no longer available..last summer and so far this summer have been brutal...so skip California and extend your sw visits to early mornings and sunset evenings

If you decide to California.. research the 3 freeways...on your own and not by app...odds of you encountering a freeway fire are slim.but if you do.. you are out in the middle of nowhere.. research the August 14 2024 I -15 fire..it was a human crisis. Carry a camp ice chest of water and towels anywhere in the SW

 

[disny_luvr]

So some direction about summer in the southwest.. first I spent 46 years of summer in Oregon and they were great... now I have spent the last 6 summers in Arizona.. first 4 were great July 4th to labor day.. now our summer starts mid May and will not end till late October...108-118

I share this because folks decade or more ago who visited a SW summer will share about a summer visit... that is no longer available..last summer and so far this summer have been brutal...so skip California and extend your sw visits to early mornings and sunset evenings

If you decide to California.. research the 3 freeways...on your own and not by app...odds of you encountering a freeway fire are slim.but if you do.. you are out in the middle of nowhere.. research the August 14 2024 I -15 fire..it was a human crisis. Carry a camp ice chest of water and towels anywhere in the SW

Yes, I've heard about your summers from people that I know that have visited during the hottest months. We would definitely head out early and take breaks or even head back to our AirBNB if needed. Last year when we were in CA (we were always by the coast - San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego where the weather was delightful) we saw on the weather reports that areas in the desert were 120 degrees plus. I know it is dry heat, but that is brutal!

 

[DonnerB]

I think I looked and it’s about 7.5 hours. We’ve done long drives before (Rapid City to Cody and Jackson Hole to Estes Park). I’m assuming it’s mostly through desert?

On Google Maps right now, it's a slightly shorter drive from Springdale, UT to Disneyland than to LA but either destination will involve the same awful stretch from Vegas on the 15. It took me over 8 hours to get to LA in November, with only one 10 minute bathroom/gas stop. And yes, it's pretty much all desert. I guess I personally wouldn't want to deal with that drive for only a day or two at Disneyland (but I am local and am jaded by the ability to just drive down and visit in less than an hour). I agree with the previous poster(s) who suggested cutting out LA. Give the extra day to Disney or the NPs (Zion was BUSY in November, and that was before any budget/staffing cuts). Listen, I love my city, but I'm exhausted at the thought of doing more than one activity a day. Props to the tourists who do it, but it doesn't sound like a relaxing final day of vacation!

 

[China Expat]

I think I looked and it’s about 7.5 hours. We’ve done long drives before (Rapid City to Cody and Jackson Hole to Estes Park). I’m assuming it’s mostly through desert?

No way 7.5 hours. You May hit traffic in Arizona, meals, gas, etc. Google maps shows my upcoming drive from Ontario airport to Gallup, NM across Arizona as 10. 5 hours wiithout stops, realistically 12 hours.. Always add two hours to the stated the drive.

 

[sjmac42]

Yes I agree, there’s zero chance you can make it from Kanab to Anaheim in 7.5 hours, it’s more like 9-10.
Choosing a single base and driving to and from the National Parks is a mistake, a big one. It’s 4 hours each way to the Grand Canyon NP South Rim, 2 hrs to the north rim, an hour and a half to Bryce and Antelope Canyons not to mention it’s 3.5 hours from Vegas. About the only thing its closish to is Zion.
You need to move hotels and do a loop over 5-6 nights then fly to SNA, LGB or LAX for Disneyland. In fact I’d skip DL this trip and see the national parks properly, including Monument Valley. You can go to Disneyland and WDW any time, not like you’re a millionaire miles from them.

 

[gsdweller]

I would consider this route:
Day 1- Fly to Salt Lake City
Day 2- Drive to Bryce Canyon, (just under 4 hour drive) Stay at Ruby's. See the Park and stay for the 100% dark star-gazing
Alternatively, drive via scenic route 12 through Escalante up and over Hell's Backbone. Adds 3 hours, can be a bit un-nerving, but well worth it.
Day 3- Hike more in Bryce if needed, drive to Zion's National Park (1 hour and 20 minute drive). Explore Zions, drive to Kanab (35 mins)
Day 4- More exploring in Zion's
Day 5,6 - Grand Canyon, maybe more, or back to Zion's.
Day 7- Drive to Vegas (3 hours 15 minute drive) fly to Long Beach or Orange County. LAX is a huge pain.
Days 8-9- Disneyland
Day 10- LA (visit some of the things we didn’t have time to see last summer)
Day 11- Fly home

 

[disny_luvr]

I would consider this route:
Day 1- Fly to Salt Lake City
Day 2- Drive to Bryce Canyon, (just under 4 hour drive) Stay at Ruby's. See the Park and stay for the 100% dark star-gazing
Alternatively, drive via scenic route 12 through Escalante up and over Hell's Backbone. Adds 3 hours, can be a bit un-nerving, but well worth it.
Day 3- Hike more in Bryce if needed, drive to Zion's National Park (1 hour and 20 minute drive). Explore Zions, drive to Kanab (35 mins)
Day 4- More exploring in Zion's
Day 5,6 - Grand Canyon, maybe more, or back to Zion's.
Day 7- Drive to Vegas (3 hours 15 minute drive) fly to Long Beach or Orange County. LAX is a huge pain.
Days 8-9- Disneyland
Day 10- LA (visit some of the things we didn’t have time to see last summer)
Day 11- Fly home

This is really helpful information, thank you! I will look into this itinerary. We are still in the early stages of planning and nothing has been booked, so this might be very doable.

Also, I would’ve never even considered flying from LV to LA. We typically fly Southwest and I checked last night and they offer several nonstop flights daily, plus they are cheap. Thank you for the helpful suggestion.

 

[marthachick]

The north rim of the Grand Canyon is less commercial than the south rim and only about 90 minutes from Kanab.

 

[marthachick]

The north rim of the Grand Canyon is less commercial than the south rim and only about 90 minutes from Kanab.

Just saw on the news that the North Rim fire has destroyed the Lodge, other buildings and cabins. This makes me very sad. I have wonderful memories of our family visiting and staying there overnight.

 

[irlandaise]

Just saw on the news that the North Rim fire has destroyed the Lodge, other buildings and cabins. This makes me very sad. I have wonderful memories of our family visiting and staying there overnight.

Yes, very sad. Here's more info from NPS:

https://www.facebook.com/GrandCanyonNationalPark/posts/pfbid02qQQPXRBXoqgziNZUCcFDD6yudgxWRzBmHnHgsS4FscXfk72R3FG5PeGz7g1ni6Yfl

The North Rim is closed to visitors for the rest of 2025. Without the main lodge, I don't know whether they can even reopen the surviving cabins next year. The only option may be day trips, but it's too soon to even know about that yet.

 

[sjmac42]

Just saw on the news that the North Rim fire has destroyed the Lodge, other buildings and cabins. This makes me very sad. I have wonderful memories of our family visiting and staying there overnight.

Oh that’s an awful tragedy, the North Rim is so lovely. Never stayed at the lodge but it’s a big loss, I hope no one was hurt.