This thread is raptly entertaining.
I can't believe I'm about to say this, because it goes against every WDW principle that I hold dear, but..........*swallow* *cough* *swallow*..................
...................................................*dramatic pause*...............................................................
..........................................................An hour in standby never killed anyone. (Well, not anyone in relatively good health anyway.)
I just about killed me to type that. Honestly, if that is the ONE thing your kid wants to do, in all of WDW, then an hour in standby is worth it.
On a side note OP, trying to chase the ideal of a "perfect trip" will do nothing but exhaust and disappoint you. The higher you put the trip on a pedestal, the farther it will crash. I understand you've had a bad year, (I didn't read all of the replies, but that is what I'm picking up here), and that you and your family really need this vacation, but the more you plan and tweak, and re-plan, and obsess, quite frankly, the further into chaos you will plummet. A couple of days into your trip you will turn into that bloodshot eyed, crazy haired Mom who is screaming at their family that if they don't get moving in 5 minutes they'll miss (*insert whatever here*), and you've paid $*)*#)*@)*@ for this trip and it can't be missed! Then you will burst into tears when you discover that, really, all your kids want to do is swim in the AKL pool. (That was my biggest letdown, honestly. All my daughter wanted to do was spend all day at the pool, despite everything else to do, and see, at WDW.
You are going to be you, you are going to do what you want to do and that is fine, I'm just offering up some friendly advice that trying to plan that "perfect trip" is kind of like chasing that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Disney is a little stressful, but it doesn't have to make you miserable. Be flexible, understand that it may pour rain 5 out of 7 days, know that you may not make it to every ADR, the fastpasses you want may not ever be available, and whatever ride you have a FP for and are really looking forward to may break and be down for the next few days, right before you board it. Life happens, even at WDW.