Second, character meals cost two Table Service credits on the dining plan. Given your plans, it might not be worth doing the dining plan - just pay OOP for everything.
Agree. Every time I have set down and done the math it is always ends up cheaper for us to pay out of pocket then to do the plan.
Resort: Stay at Wilderness Lodge. It will give you easy access to the Magic Kingdom and Fort Wilderness, and is just a fun place. Any other magic kingdom hotels would be great choices too, just depending on what floats your boat (Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Poly). Assuming money isn't a real concern, stick with one of those. The only reason to go for moderates or values is to save money. You don't have a long trip, so the closer to MK you can be, the better.
Agree, at your kid’s ages all they normally care about is that the hotel has an awesome pool, and both have pools with slides, so you are set. The Wilderness Lodge also has the geyser which is neat, the electric water parade comes by, and the Whispering Canyon restaurant is a lot of fun for kids. There aren’t any characters there, but there are other fun activities that take place.
180 days out, book the earliest Crystal Palace reservation that you can get. (TS credit #s 1 and 2)
I would clarify that you need an hour before park opening ADR for this. If your kids aren’t into WTP then I’d not do this unless you can get exactly an hour before opening time ADR. Not 40 minutes or 30 minutes, but an hour. The advantage is to get to the rides before the rope drop people do. If you can’t be done eating at a quarter til park opening, don’t do it. If you really want to eat with WTP, then I’d book the latest breakfast they offer for a late brunch / lunch. This way you maximize rope drop since you stated you guys are early risers anyway. Then when the parks start to get crowded at 11:00, you can escape with your brunch break.
60 days out, Get fast passes for Buzz and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 60 days. Your third fastpass will depend on the height of your kids and whatever you all are most excited to ride. Some good options are any of the mountains (depending on height), Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion.
Also, remember you don’t have to get the same FP for every person if you don’t mind splitting up. So you may want to make kiddie FP for the younger kids in place of 7DMT. Also, you can use child swap to your advantage as well.
When you all feel like you are about to melt or kill each other (whichever comes first), take a break.
This is a good one. Either plan a lunch break, find a playground, go back to the hotel and take naps and swim. But don’t over do it. The afternoon is the hottests most crowded time to be in the park, use this time for a break, to see a show, to eat, to do all those things that don’t involve rushing around waiting in line. If you think you will return to your hotel, a good plan might be to make a Whispering Canyon lunch reservation which I think your boys would find more fun than CP.
180 days out (or so - not necessary to be on the dot), make a reservation for Mickey's Backyard BBQ.
I honestly wouldn't do downtown Disney, but if you really want to go to TRex, go there for an early lunch. It's shopping and dining - not exactly huge draws for young boys. They do have a
lego store, which my son enjoyed for as long as we let him.
Sleep in as much as you can (you were up late last night.) Play at the pool and enjoy the other resort activities. Do the monorail hop and let the kids play in the sand at the other resorts. [QS Credit #2 for lunch
Go to Fort Wilderness a few hours before the BBQ is supposed to begin. Play at the playground, check out the stables, do a pony ride or carriage ride. Have a great night at the BBQ. After the BBQ, linger, take pics with Mickey and Minnie, and the play at the playground. Watch the Electrical Water Pageant from Fort Wilderness beach, depending on the timing.
I agree. I absolutely love to go to to T-rex, but I don’t think it would be worth the long trip down and back with young kids just for that. A better use of your time would be hanging out at the campground or hotel which both have many kid friendly activities. If you could fit DTD in on the day you arrive or leave, I think that would be a better use of your time.
Before your trip, make FP+ for Be Our Guest [QS Credit #3]
Honestly, unless this is just a must do for you. I don’t see this being a big hit with boys. We thought the restaurant was absolutely beautiful, but no one in the family cared for the food, and this trip I can’t even get my mother to agree to go because she says there is absolutely nothing she wants to eat there. It isn’t a fun character meal. It is just a beautiful spot to eat in. I think one of the other places you had on your list would be a better choice for your boys.
In general, I think you have a good start with your list. These are my suggestions for narrowing them down:
1. Check the menus to be sure the food appeals to you.
2. Pick meals with characters that appeal the most to your kids.
3. Choose meals nearby, either in the same hotel or park you are at. On such a short trip, with high crowd levels, you don't want to waste a lot of time traveling to and from a meal. You could easily loose 4 hours on 1 meal. 1.5 to 2 hours for the meal (wait to be seated + actual eating). Then an hour both ways for transport. Do you really want to waste that much time?
My suggestion as far as meals is to limit them to one sit down/themed restaurnt per day. Anything more can be overwhelming. The table service meals eat up huge chunks or time, especially the character meals.
4. Choose meals with different themes or characters, so you aren't repeating.
5. Since you are morning people don't waste rope drop. Plan your meals for the most crowded parts of the day between 11:00 - 3:00 or for meals out of the park after closing or after you plan on leaving. This will give you a break from the crowds / heat and the added benefit of knowing you aren't really wasting any park time. As you wouldn't get much ridden with the long lines anyway.
Can you tel me which of these do lunch with characters or where I can find that info?
Here is another tip...arrival and departure days (when you may not be the visiting the parks) are a great time to do character dining restaurants that are located in resorts (not in the parks) so you can maximize park time. 
