Well I've decided to abandon the idea of early breakfast. It's not worth it to me to spend $120 for 2 of us to have just ok buffet food for the sake of being a little early. We can eat in our room and head out early to be there before rope drop much easier.
Toy Story was his thing when he was an itty bitty kiddo. He's been dying to see Toy Story Land since it was announced. Slinky Dog is my FP priority, but I'll figure it out if I'm not lucky enough to get one. I'll keep trying - even on day of. I got TSM in the meantime. And ST for the 2nd. Not sure what to do for the 3rd. I'm just not sure about the times I've chosen. It's the one park that I feel like I spend all day zig zagging back and forth. That's why I really need help maximizing our time this time... it's our one day. I really don't want to have spent all this money and flown down there only to stand in line the whole day kicking myself for not planning better. You know? I just want to know what order of things seem to work well for people to give us a better shot.
Definitely book a 3rd FP, even if you're not going to use it or just tap & walk away. Since they redid the Tiers the majority of the things people want to do are T1, but you can't book a new T1 until you use all 3 fastpasses (you can't just book 1 & 1 & 1 like you could do with something like Space Mountain). I like to book my fastpasses for the morning/early afternoon. Basically for right when the crowds start to pick up, like 10am/11am/12pm. Then you have the chance to still make more for later in the day (again, especially for those T1 rides). Also if you're able, I always move my fastpasses as I use them. This really saves time. So you have your first fastpass at 10am and you're through both tapstiles - I immediately try to modify my next fastpass so instead of waiting until 11am, I can ride it at 10:15 or something. Lately DHS has had quite a lot of fastpasses for things like TOT - I rode it a ton with fastpass when I was there over Halloween. Just be SURE to use those initial 3 quickly so you can look for more T1's.
I feel you on the zigzagging, but I also feel like DHS is the one park that that's unavoidable. Maybe it's just me but it doesn't seem to have as nice of a flow as the other parks. Instead of going around the loop, I go back & forth. I'll just throw out what my tentative itinerary would be as an example.
Rope drop SDD
Ride TSM or Alien SS if the lines are short when you get out
Fastpass 1
Fastpass 2
Fastpass 3 (moving them up if possible)
Lunch (while checking for your next T1 FP
Ride next T1 FP (let's say you get SDD again....)
Check lines for TOT, RNRC, and Smuggler's Run - if short, ride them. If not, go see a show like Indiana Jones.
Keep checking Fastpasses
Towards the later part of the night, I'd head to SWGE. It's beautiful at night, even just to explore & play on the data pads.
Watch whatever evening show(s) you want to see.
With Smuggler's Run the line has been shorter in the evening vs if you try to rope drop it. No one can say for sure but I'd imagine ROTR will be the same, so I'd head there at the end of the night and jump in the line before closing.
This all depends on a lot of factors. I'm a planner, but I also plan to go with the flow, if that makes sense. Pick three things you HAVE to do, even if it means waiting in line for 1-2 hours. That still leaves a lot of time in the day to go with the flow and choose what has the shortest waits, see shows, or do games on the datapad to explore SWGE. Keep checking for fastpasses, but also don't get so wrapped up in sprinting from one ride to another that you don't stop to smell the roses. DHS has the street performers which can be fun to watch. There's also Star Wars launch bay, and don't be afraid to ride Star Tours twice if your stepson wants to, since the scenes change. That ride has had very low waits lately so it's a good one to do twice. I think Toy Story Mania is another one worth doing multiple times, since it's a game and a ride, so if the line's short go on it more than once!
You probably know a lot of this since you're a veteran but I'm just trying to reassure you.
I think if you go in with your top three "must-do's", early fastpasses, and a rope drop plan, you'll probably be done with the major stuff (excluding SWGE) by early afternoon and then be free to go with the flow. RNRC & SR have single rider lines and while I wouldn't do my first time on SR through the single rider (okay, that IS what I did and I was confused and didn't have fun), once you've waited standby and gotten the story of the ride, you could ride it again via single rider.
