I am a big fan of a la carte when it comes to putting together a WDW vacation.
Be forewarned that it will take a little (ok...a lot) more effort on your part.
The Ultimat Park Hoppers that are included in most packages are good from midnight the day you arrive until midnight the day you leave. Generally speaking, you are not going to get a full day's worth of use from the first & last day.
For example, if your plane lands in Orlando at 3 PM, figure 2 hours from touchdown to check-in at the hotel (a towncar might get you there in a little over 1 hr with no grocery stop). If your flight home leaves at noon, you won't have time to get to a park (well...ok... maybe a princess breakfast) before you have to head to MCO.
My strategy is to have hoppers for all the middle days only. There is plenty of non-park stuff to do the first and last days--dinner at any resort (Boma, 'Ohana, Chef MIckey's, Cape May, anyplace on the Boardwalk or Downtown Disney). Check out your hotel. Check out other hotels. Get to bed early and be in line waiting for the parks to open on your first full day.
RE the silver add-ons. You can calculate the value of the wishes and compare it to the costs of meals, boat rentals, etc. People have kept track of their spending and you can come out ahead, but not if all you use them on is meals. The bigger savings is when wishes are used for outside the park activities.
