You were smart to nab the Fiery Furnace tour tickets! The last two times we've been in the area it wasn't planned and last October they were booked a month in advance!

Utahtea

We were in this area last week, a couple of suggestions based on our experience.
*If you fly into Las Vegas, as we did, don't rent a car from Dollar. The line for Dollar was excruciatingly long, while Hertz, Avis, etc had no line to speak of (true both coming in and leaving). The check-in process was the most complicated I've ever seen, and the up-sell was egregious. Plus, the car we got was defective, and we had to bring it back and exchange it (that maybe was just bad luck, and the exchange process was handled fine).
*If you want to stay a night in LV, Hotel 32 at Monte Carlo is a quiet place with a club floor vibe, good service, spacious rooms and suites. It's actually the top floor of the regular Monte Carlo, some good views. It was a great value for dollar, not cheap but you get more than you pay for, including free breakfast in their lounge. Parking in the M's large garage is free, but so is their valet service for H32 guests.
*We saw Zion, Bryce, Escalante and Capitol Reef. All were great, but Zion (Springdale) has far more and more varied choices of hotels and restaurants than Bryce, which is really lacking. Bryce is a good driving tour spot, easy to make the look-out circuit; Zion better for hiking IMO.
*Rte 12, which we took from Zion to Bryce goes through Zion and is gorgeous (twisty-turny but not vertiginous). You will have to pay the Zion entrance fee, but if you want to take photos, this road is a fantastic opportunity. It was a highlight of our trip.
*We wanted to see back country Escalante so we worked with Earth Tours, which had the knowledge and vehicle to make it memorable and easy; great day and a half. Some of Escalante is paved, but some is wild (to an Easterner, anyway). It and adjoining Capitol Reef are breathtaking for color and panoramas; another photo gold mine. We stayed at the Slot Canyons Inn, which is a stylish place with friendly service. Their restaurant wasn't open during our stay, so we had good BBQ at Circle D and terrific pizza at Escalante Outfitters Cafe. I had been scared to drive "the Hogback" part of the road from the Inn to the Boulder entrance to Escalante because it doesn't have guardrails. I shouldn't have been, it turned out to be not at all frightening, even to a coward.

Sorry, the road through Zion to Bryce is Rte 9, 12 is the Bryce and east route.

susie,

I've stayed at the Novel House several times and obviously enjoy it. Very nice comfortable rooms and beds, good breakfasts with good variety. Good location for walking around the few blocks that make up Springdale. The town shuttle bus stops right in front on Main Street and connects with the park shuttle. Does not have the riverside rooms and views that hotels on the other side of the street do, but to me that's not a big deal. Be sure to walk down the street to Zion Pizza and Noodle. Great pizza!

I've also stayed at the Sky Ridge B&B several times. It's had some turnover with owners, but the current owners seem to be keeping it up to previous standards. I really like this place. Small, charming, comfortable, quiet, good breakfasts and awesome views. Very nice common living room. In Torrey, be sure to eat at Slacker's Burgers and Cafe Diablo.

Have fun!