Los Angeles to Grand Canyon Questions

[JzeroT1437]

I had a trip planned for this July wherein I was going to fly into LAX, spend a day or two at Santa Monica, then Amtrak over to Anaheim and check into a hotel for Disneyland. Unfortunately, my tonsils swelled up to the size of golf balls last week and the doctors tell me I have mono. Fortunately, NWA was kind enough to reschedule my flight for October 8th-12th, meaning I'll get to visit during Mickey's Trick or Treat Party, the HM's Jack Skellington renovation, and my birthday.

Due to scheduling issues, I now have only 4 full days in the LA/Anaheim area rather than 5 (I leave extremely early on the 12th). When planning for July, I'd allocated two full days and a half day to Disney, but now that I'm going in the off season, I'm presuming I'll only need two full days, or maybe only a day and 3/4ths.

My question is this: Is it feasible to visit the Grand Canyon and get back within the two remaining days? Is there a shuttle service from LA to the Grand Canyon that isn't a 3-Day event with stopovers in Las Vegas? Or should I go ahead and plan a Vegas trip later in the year in order to fulfill this wish?

I've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, but fear I might not whereas I'm from the East Coast (West Virginia) and will soon be moving either farther north (New York) or to the far, far East (South Korea). By doing this, however, I would be encumbering most of my time outside of LA, a city which I've never visited and know very little about aside from fake representations on TV and movies.

Anyway, let me know if you guys are aware of any shuttle services and your opinion on whether the Grand Canyon is preferable to a couple of days touring LA and soaking up the Fall sun in Santa Monica.

 

[casaazul]

I don't see you having much time to do the GC in only 2 days. It is 8+hours away from Disneyland. Plus, you would want to spend at least a day there.

Spend the time in the LA/Orange County area.

 

[jlmarr]

You cold take the Amtrak Southwest Chief from Fullerton to Flagstaff and then the Amtrak connecting bus service to the Grand Canyon, but it's an overnight train in each direction. If you can sleep on a train it might work for you, but wouldn't give you much time there given your time constraints. Maybe on a future visit with more time available. If you want to look at the scheduling go to amtrak.com and use station codes FUL and GCB.

 

[JzeroT1437]

I think I'm going to plan a trip to Las Vegas for December. That way I get to see the Canyon, Vegas, and possibly hitch a ride over to Disney to see the park lit up for Christmas.