This was an incredibly helpful post. Thank you so much.
BUT, I must point something out…
The real blasphemy in your post is that Haunted Mansion is not in the Absolutely CANNOT skip category. Surely you just forgot about it, as its not in your post at all. True blasphemy. I don’t think we can be friends…
I can’t believe I forgot Haunted Mansion.
I struggled with where to put it and moved it around a bunch. Originally it was on Absolutely can skip (because it is nearly identical except for one short, but very cool, effect, more on that in a second, and the queue really is such a blah nothingness compared to WDW’s) but as I mused over the skippables, I kept thinking, some of these are a lot easier to plan than others so I need to move them away (and created a new category of Probably could skip). Soarin’ and Splash were also in that situation (and made it to their appropriate final destination) but Haunted Mansion did not. Can you ever forgive me? Can we be friends?
Now knowing you are a Haunted Mansion stan, it automatically goes into the Absolutely CANNOT skip and most of that is to witness the effect of Hattie the Hatbox Ghost. He was meant to be an original part of the ride, but was scrapped because the illusion didn’t work out perfectly as intended but Imagineering has now perfected it and he delivers amazingly and well worth a ride, especially for Haunted Mansion stans. And if you watched the Disney+ Behind the Attractions special then you already know all this. But just in case you didn’t.
If you weren’t a HM stan, I think I would’ve ended up putting it in the Try to Fit in and noted that it could move down to Can Skip if you aren’t a huge Haunted Mansion fan as it is only in there for the Hatbox Ghost.
(Please say I am redeemed)
You are redeemed. It is in fact my favorite ride. I want to visit all the parks just to experience the different versions of HM.
Phew. I am relieved. And, that is a most awesome goal. So we can create a new category for just HM of Definitely Absolutely Cannot Leave DLR without doing
Must dos for me
DCA
Incredicoaster
RSR
GotG
GRR
Monsters Inc
Web Slingers
Disney Animation Building
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail if you have littles
Spider-Man in Marvel land
With more time I’d add
PhilharMagic just cuz I love the updated version
Soarin
Little Mermaid
Some of the other street performances like the avengers
DL
Indiana
Pirates (like far superior. It’ll ruin WDW version forever for you)
Haunted Mansion
BTMR
RotR (it actually seems to work better here so if you’ve been missing Kylo at the end he’s working here)
MFSR
Splash
BTMR
Tom Sawyer (for the pirate theming in the caves…make sure to stick your hand in crevices and what not)
Railroad
Roger rabbit
Me Toad
Alice in Wonderland
Matterhorn
Small world
Pinocchio
Snow White
Space (this version is better)
Buzz
Castle walk thru (make sure to try and open doors)
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Lincoln
If toontown is fully open I’d walk thru Mickey and Minnie’s house but is it closed for refurbishments?
With more time I’d hit star tours and Winnie the Pooh too. If your kids love the cars Autopia better than Speedway but neither is on my list. I’d avoid Dumbo because it has a longer line here than WDW and not the neat queue. I like the treehouse better here too not because of the Tarzan theming but because of its layout. Little details like that are better here. If you can walk thru pixie hollow at night that’s fun too. I love those little details and walk thru New Orleans. Just beautiful.
I created this thread last summer where a few of us shared our comparisons of DL vs WDW. This post in particular has my breakdown of what you can find exclusively at each resort and which version of duplicates / similar rides is better.
HM is absolutely cannot skip at Christmastime for sure.
But you know it’s absolutely cannot skip anyway
Correct. Also a valid reason for coming back on a separate trip to see it in both forms. Because it is night and day a different ride. Both fantastic, both so incredibly detailed.
I sometimes skip HM. 
I like it but DW doesn’t really like the vibe of it - she is sensitive to demonic stuff. I like to go because it’s one of the last classic rides Walt had a personal hand in creating. But it’s not one I feel the need to ride over and over. It’s above JC but below PotC and PP for me.
And yet she allows you to stay…
With three relatively young kids you may want to temper expectations a bit more. Some of these “must do” lists look a bit long for a short trip. Naps, strollers, bathroom breaks, snacks, characters, early bedtimes, etc can really wreck havoc on a touring plan.
You’ll still have a great time and see/experience a lot, but try not to sweat the things you may miss. Some of the kids’ best memories very likely won’t be rides. My 5 year old talks more about character interactions and Avenger fights/shows than he does any ride.
Yeah my kids number one thing at WDW was the pool haha. DW put her foot down that we can’t add a 3rd day. And have to stay offsite. Will definitely be prioritizing everything and not doing a lot of things I want to. So I’m probably going to focus on 2-3 main things each morning, nap pool time, then 2-3 things in afternoon /evening. Everything else will be icing on top. Main point of the trip is San Diego, I just have a hard time not going all in on Disney.
Jordan, I’m heading to DLR February 7-10 with my niece and her family. We will be using DAS and I’ll try to update on how it is working there. My grand nieces and nephews range in age from 4-8 (there are five of them!) and all of them qualify for DAS. If you can mix in some RD low lines with DAS return times and pre-selected attractions, you might be able to do more than you think. I would for sure do HM since that’s your favorite. The other musts for me on a tight timeline would be Cars Land and Webslingers if the kids are into Spidey.
Maybe you can get more park time if you pick a hotel with a boring pool. 
Yeah that’s what its looking like. Rectangular pool in a parking lot. Yay…
This 7 day trip is looking like $8-9k. Ouch… Can we just go to WDW instead?!?!
For me DL is always way cheaper because I don’t have to fly and hotels are much cheaper.
I’ve never regretted a short weekend trip! It’s nice just to reboot.