There's not much you can do about the flights or accomodation now but everyone's opinions are different. Personally i'll fly in the cargo with the chickens if it means a cheap flight as i see it as getting from 'A' to 'B'...my hubby on the other hand prefers a little more comfort.
That said we've only flown economy so far but it's always been Virgin or Thomson.
We go armed as if the inflight entertainment isn't working because unfortunately it can happen on a whole flight duration & there's nothing you can do. Plus i found when my daughter was smaller it was difficult for her to screen as they are pretty much at adult height & you don't get much movement in the screens.
So last time i took my laptop as it's a big full screen & i had disney films in a case so little one could watch them with headphones. Some parents looked at me like i was mad but i tell you what, i had several saying they were going to do the same next time!
Hubby & son both have tablets so they were downloaded with telly series stuff, films, games etc.
But i also took sticker books, colouring pencils, paper etc. And for me, well good old books as my laptop is the only tech thing i have tbh!
I've never stayed in a Disney hotel so can't tell you much about that im afraid. My friend has always got the dining plan but i think she get's the top one & she's always said they get more than enough food for all of them.
Could it be something you 'buy' when your there perhaps?
I don't think the cost of food is as bad as people make out in the parks, but that said if i was having to eat there all the time & get full meals as such it might be different.
With staying in a villa we always call at Walmart & pick up some cereals, milk, loads of cans of soft drinks & bottles of water etc.
Some mornings we'll call for an 'all you can eat brekkie', about $25 for the 4 of us. That way we eat as much as we can stuff in, i take things like muffins/fruit etc to put in my bag for snacks when in the park, and then we call at a restaurant for our dinner on the way home.
I also pick up some tubes of pringles etc from Walmart as these can go in my bag for in the park & kids can have a handful at times to keep them going, or quiet when queueing!!! bad mum ;)
Fluid is expensive in the park, bottles of water, coke etc. We buy loads of these from Walmart, put some water in the freezer, some in the fridge & then take maybe 3 water bottles & 2 cans of pop with us in the morning as that way it just delays the time in having to fork out for drinks in the park!!! Most Disney parks have water fountains so i top the water bottles up with this when we've drunk them.
I booked BB Boutique for last time we went but tbh we ended up not going.
I'd noticed alot of girls who'd clearly been, being dragged around by a harassed angry mum whilst they would be looking grumpy or crying behind them. I soon cottoned on that basically the kids were swealtering in the dresses & their hair was killing them. They scrape it within an inch of it's life on top of their head & then secure it really tightly so it basically cannot move! I spoke to one mum who said she'd asked one of the godmothers to not do her girls hair tight & she'd apparently been quite rude & unwilling to not stick to the normal routine etc, and she'd ended up having to take her girls hair out herself when they were outside. It scared me a little so tbh we just didn't turn up for our slot. I knew you got charged £10 or $10 for non arrival but i wasn't really bothered considering i could waste $80 or so.
I'd just go with the flow & if your not sure then just leave it.
Good idea about the dresses to take with you!!