[Vinniecat]

We did the following
5 nights San Francisco
2 nights Monterey
2 nights Pismo beach
2 nights Santa Barbara
7 nights San Diego
5 nights Anaheim
Unfortunately we had to cancel Yosemite due to fires.
I loved San Francisco and I would say I'm not usually a city person. You definitely do not need a car whilst in San Francisco. We did a Dylan's tour on the first morning, cable cars and baseball another day, walked to the Golden Gate Bridge and Alkatraz one day and we did a Segway ride around the golden gate park amongst other things. We stayed at the holiday inn express fishermans wharf it was an excellent location.
Monterey was brilliant I would have liked longer there.
We only went shopping at Pismo beach so didn't really get a feel for the place.
Santa Barbara was lovely could have done with longer here too.
I liked San Diego but didn't like the driving there. The zoo was fantastic.
I am glad we did Disney and the teenagers enjoyed it but I would not wish to return.
Overall I loved California and hope to return as I was gutted about Yosemite and I would also like to go to Lake Tahoe.
Enjoy your planning I would say try not to do too much. If I was to go again I would say no stays shorter than 3 nights otherwise it can feel like you are just waiting for your next move and have at least one longer stay somewhere but others will disagree with me. Also decide where exactly you want to visit before pricing up flights. We flew into San Francisco and out of Los Angeles slightly more expensive than in and out of the same airport but saved on petrol and driving time.