Ok, after much thought, careful evaluation of the facts, and conversations with my parents, here it is... my new and different itinerary.
Tuesday September 28th
Arrive at MCO at 11:05 am
Side note: I have finally decided about my luggage!!! Based on our new plans, I am wanting to bring pop tarts and muffins for breakfast in our room. This coupled with the fact that Jack will most likely NOT be potty-trained by the time we leave 
I need the extra space a suitcase will give me. Therefore, I will be checking my suitcase as well as DS's and my backpack, and carrying on DS's backpack and my Vera carryon. That way I have enough room for our swim and party gear.
Good choice! Maybe not for this trip since you are on a tighter budget, but possibly a suggestion for next trip...I ordered from Garden Grocer & they had food/diapers/bottled water/wet wipes/etc all delivered to the room when we arrived (actually they had it "stored" for us at Bell Services & they brought it to our room for us). It was very convenient because I didn't have to waste an entire suitcase just on diapers & snacks. I think I have a list somewhere on my PTR of what all I ordered, but basically it was fruit snacks, granola bars, diapers & wet wipes, cereal, and bottled water.
I know what you mean about worrying about your Vera getting ruined! The way they (at the airport) throw the luggage around is craaazy!!!
September 29th~ Wednesday
This is the big day of changes. After trying to decide which park to do, and talking to my parents, I decided to upgrade to a park hopper. I know, I know, it sounds crazy right?? 3 parks in 2 days? with a 2 year old?!
But I really wanted him to get to see DHS for all the Cars and Toy Story stuff, and AK for the Animals.
I think this decision was great!!! I really think your son will enjoy both DHS and AK. I understand your thinking because I went through the same exact thing! I even told my husband on the day we were going to DHS that we'd probably only be there a few hours at most because our son wouldn't be able to do anything there. I told him it was geared more towards teenagers/adults. BOY WAS I WRONG! LOL Our son ended up LOVING the park. There was way more there for him to do that I originally thought. We saw the Playhouse Disney Live show (which I recommend if your son watches Pooh, Manny, Mickey Mouse, or Little Einsteins). He also loved seeing Lightning McQueen & Mater (although he was scared at first). We didn't see the Toy Story characters, but I suggest going to the Animation Building & trying to ride TS Mania if you can! I'll look through my trip notes & see what else I can suggest for DHS!
He will only be able to ride a couple things at AK, and he probably won't be willing to sit through both FOTLK and Nemo shows, so we wil probably only be spending 3 hours at AK anyways. I could stretch it out longer, but to be honest, it's not one of my favorite parks. At Epcot, he will be able to ride a few rides in Future World, but not a ton, so we won't need much time there either. So this is the plan...
I agree! We weren't able to ride much at AK but our son loved just wondering around. We did ride the Kilimajaro Safari & saw the Its a Bugs Life 3D show, but other than that, our AK day was sort of like our "relaxation day."
We honestly spent most of the day just walking the trails. Our son was in his stroller part of the time & the other half of the time we just let him walk around (because there weren't many people on the trail when we were). He really loved seeing the animals (like the Tigers, Gorillas, birds, etc) on the trail (we knew he would because he loves the zoo & animal park near where we live!).
We didn't sit through the shows so I can't suggest anything there, but I have heard other people say their toddlers could sit through it...mine, I know he couldn't so we didn't even try! Every child is different so I'd just use your best judgement.
We forgot to play in the Boneyard because it was just too hot & humid that day, but we will definitely stop by next trip!
At Epcot we will do Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Imagination, and check out Innoventions, and possibly Ellen's Energy Adventure, though he is really a little young for that. Then we will head over to the World Showcase. I think he will love the music and atmosphere there, last time we were there he would get out of his stroller and dance in the middle of the walkways
We will try and stick it out for Illuminations, but if he can't hang around that long we will call it a night.
Those are good choices for Future World! We did the same ones. If you have a Disney Visa, make sure to check out the Innoventions greeting area...I couldn't find it but I can try to ask someone for you if you're interested. Its from 1:30-4:30pm everyday & all you do is show them your Disney Visa & you can meet the characters. I guess its a private room so you'd be in there with your son & the characters! That would be neat! They give you one free 5x7 and then you can add the pics to your Photopass card (and have the photog take pics on your camera as well!) Just another suggestion!
As far as Ellen's Energy Adventure, our son actually enjoyed it. He wasn't overly thrilled with it, but he liked having a break in a nice cool room where he could sit down for awhile! lol He loved Figment!!! If you have time, let your son run through the fountains as well. As I'm sure you saw from my TR, our son wouldn't run through them but he liked watching the other kids! I think all kids love Nemo!!!
There is so much to see at World Showcase! I hope you get to see all the characters there & also the performers! Our son really loves music & likes dancing so he enjoyed all the ones we saw! I'll try to look through my pictures & see if the times are posted, but it might change for the fall???
So basically, I cut out all of our TS meals to pay for the ticket upgrade. Jack's a chicken nugget and french fries kidn of kid, so CS meals are going to be fine.
I know what you mean. Our son prefers french fries & chicken nuggets over anything else! (He really loved the chicken nugget bucket at OPR!) There are TONS of great CS choices at Epcot! I think too many to pick just one or two!
Thank goodness because I am not cut out for that. It was miserable for the 10 months I was on it before! I am still starting to investigate other employment opportunities, but now I think I will try to find something to start in January...
That's awesome that you have the day before you leave off. I've got two days off before I leave, which I'm really glad of.
Say hi to Mickey for us!
