Denver-->Arches-->Grand Canyon-->Vegas-->DISNEYLAND!

[vickalamode]

DBF has been talking about next year's big trip being to the Southwest to do Arches and Grand Canyon, since our trip this October will be our last to WDW until the new Fantasyland is completely finished. We are thinking we can make it a bit longer of a vacation (10-12 days) and see Denver, Arches, Grand Canyon, Vegas and Disneyland.

This is my outline so far. We live out on the east coast. I've never been to any of these places, but DBF has been to the southwest although it's probably been 20 years since he went.

-Fly into Denver, get a rental car. We will spend about 2 days here.
-Drive from Denver to Arches National Park. About a 6 hour drive. Spend 1-2 days here.
-Drive from Arches to Grand Canyon. 6 hour drive. Spend 1-2 Days here
-Drive from Grand Canyon to Las Vegas. 2 hour drive. Spend only 1 night. Gambling is dangerous for our personalities! LOL!
-Drive from Las Vegas to Anaheim. 4 hour drive. Spend 3 days here. Do Hollywood/LA things for 1 day and 1 day at Disneyland and 1 day at California Adventure. Return rental car in LA and fly home out of LAX.

How does this trip sound to you? We are going to take about 10-12 days to do the trip. Has anybody done a similar little road trip like this before?

 

[GrandBob]

The one comment you're going to get in spades from this group is that 2 days at DLR is not nearly enough! 3 days is an absolute minimum, but you really need 4 days to take it all in.

The next comment is that you don't want to think about separate days for DL and DCA. Hop, hop, hop! The two parks are 100 yards from each other, about a 2 minute walk. And it's so much more productive to gather FPs at each park in the AM, and then use them in the PM.

Also, I know you're pressed for time here. But have you ever been to Mesa Verde Natl Park? One of my favorite places. I would make time for that, between Moab and Grand Canyon. Mesa Verde is where you can take ranger tours through the ancient cliff dwellings. It's amazing. But it sounds like you're either going to have to lengthen your vacation to 3 weeks, or start doing some paring down.

In any case, have a blast! It sounds like a great trip.

-Bob

 

[skiingfast]

I can confirm the first two paragraphs that Bob wrote. You may treading on a bad idea assuming two days at DLR.

Are you big into hiking? If not hikers you could cut those parks days down.

What are you doing in Denver for two days?

When is this trip planned for?

You might consider the Annual National Parks Pass currently $80 if you visit lots of National Parks and other federal site in a year it can be a great deal.

 

[vickalamode]

Thanks for your replies...
I unfortunately don't think we will be able to swing more than 2 days a DLR. I'd love to, but this isn't a Disney trip...it's more of a trip where we happen to be stopping by at Disney just to get our fix LOL. I will definitely do the hoppers-that makes a lot of sense with the parks being right next to each other. We are used to doing WDW commando style anyways, LOL.

I just looked at the website for Mesa Verde. That place looks really awesome, I have never heard of it before. We will definitely try to see if we can fit that in-I would love to go there.

We aren't that big of hikers so maybe we could cut down on the days we spend at the parks. I think this is an aspect we still need to research online while getting deeper into planning the trip, how long we would typically need to spend exploring the National Parks.

I'm not sure what DBF wants to do in Denver, really, I should probably ask him that LOL. I just know that he wants to go there. I will have to ask him what we're going to do while we're there. Neither one of us has ever been skiing, maybe we can learn in time for the trip...

We are planning on going in October 2012

 

[skiingfast]

If you don't plan to hike into the Grand Canyon, you can visit most of the overlooks that are just off the road and the museums and historical building in an afternoon(4-6hours). October won't be too busy. Keep in mind it may be cool and freak snow storms can happen.

Arches will take some hiking. You might want to do two or three in a day. Mesa Verde requires hiking(it is really cool). Since you are in the area you might look at Zion or Bryce too.

If you want to try skiing, do it on weekend in MA or NH. No need to squeeze it into a expensive trip on a big mountain when it's your first time.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Thanks for your replies...
I unfortunately don't think we will be able to swing more than 2 days a DLR. I'd love to, but this isn't a Disney trip...it's more of a trip where we happen to be stopping by at Disney just to get our fix LOL. I will definitely do the hoppers-that makes a lot of sense with the parks being right next to each other. We are used to doing WDW commando style anyways, LOL.

I just looked at the website for Mesa Verde. That place looks really awesome, I have never heard of it before. We will definitely try to see if we can fit that in-I would love to go there.

We aren't that big of hikers so maybe we could cut down on the days we spend at the parks. I think this is an aspect we still need to research online while getting deeper into planning the trip, how long we would typically need to spend exploring the National Parks.

I'm not sure what DBF wants to do in Denver, really, I should probably ask him that LOL. I just know that he wants to go there. I will have to ask him what we're going to do while we're there. Neither one of us has ever been skiing, maybe we can learn in time for the trip...

We are planning on going in October 2012

Unless Colorado gets some freakish snow storms, I doubt any ski resorts will be open in October.

 

[M&Mmum]

We did a very similar trip this summer. We spent 3 nights in Moab and did some mountain biking and visited Arches. We then drove to the Grand Canyon and stayed 2 nights on the South Rim. We drove to Henderson, Nv (right outside of Vegas) after a stop at Hoover Dam. The drive from Grand Canyon to Vegas is longer than 2 hours, closer to 5. We did not go to Disney but hit the beach for a week instead. All of us would have liked more time in Moab, agree that the time in Grand Canyon was perfect and of course a week at the beach is never long enough. We stayed in a wonderful condo in Moab if you are looking for that kind of accomadation. Also book your hotel in the Grand Canyon as early as you can as they fill up really fast. We wanted El Tovar but even at 6 months advance we could not get in. Ended up at Thunderbird Lodge which was okay location wise but a bit dated on the inside.

 

[skiingfast]

[/B]

Unless Colorado gets some freakish snow storms, I doubt any ski resorts will be open in October.

As I said above I wouldn't use this trip to try skiing. But Loveland will most likely have enough snow to try to retain thier claim to fame as first hill open in the US sometime in October.

 

[GrumpyGoat]

Rocky Mountain National park is near Denver and there are other scenic attractions around the area.

Personally, I'd skip Las Vegas altogether. It's all glitz and trying to separate the tourist from his money. I'd stop somewhere around St. George, Utah and visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks instead...