Need suggestions please

[jbmom1b2g]

We are planning a DL trip in Jan of 2016, we are going to give the tickets to the kids for their Christmas presents. They are 13, 11, and 9. We are trying to decide exactly when to go. The 2 oldests birthdays are the 11th and the 24th (Jan) so trying to decide if we should do it in between there or right before. What hotel is the best. We have always done the Tropicana and we are ok with that one unless there is a better hotel that is a little cheaper. We did look at the Paradise Pier but at about 1k more we would rather splurge for Goofys Kitchen and maybe some souverniers. we also need a fridge since my middle has type 1 diabetes and we will need to have insulin in the fridge. We will more then likely be driving. We have talked about flying, but driving we can pack a cooler and do a walmart run if needed. Any other recommendations. We are not newbies to DL but it has been a bit since we have been TIA