My brother is making a special trip to take my nephew to Galaxy's Edge at the end of June. He also feels overwhelmed by it all so I told him to keep things simple. Their priorities are just Galaxy's Edge and Haunted Mansion. This is the advice I gave him:
1. Get there at rope drop so you can head straight to the area. Get to security by at least 7:15 so you can get in the gates and get your ticket scanned. After you have your ticket scanned, check the DL app to see what the LL time is for Rise. If it is after 9am then go ahead and book it.
I think the extra money to pay for the Lightning Lane is worth it. Yes, it's a lot but you're paying for peace of mind. That way you have a dedicated time you can ride Rise and if it goes down during your time, you have a dedicated pass to return and do it after the ride comes back online.
2. At Rope Drop, head straight to Millenium Falcon. You zig while everyone else zags. You go past the line for Rise and get right on MF with basically just a walk through. You want to go quickly because if the line gets to Rise and it's not open or is stalling on opening, they may then move to MF. You're ahead of the game because you can head right on and probably have your pick of the positions. There's 3: pilots, gunners, engineers. Pilot is the hardest because you have to work in tandem with your co-pilot. You move up and down, they move left and right or vice versa. Gunner, you're just mashing buttons. Engineer, you're keeping the shields going. I would advise you to ride MF twice since the first time is fairly overwhelming. There's also a great place to get the best Photopass pictures. It's under the arch by Oga's. If you get
Genie+, I would only use a Genie+ selection on MF if the wait is over 30 minutes. That way you can return later. That whole area is really cool in the evening.
3. After you get off MF, see what the return time is like. If it's under 20 minutes, go right back on and pick a different position. I advised him to do gunners on the first ride and then pilots on the 2nd.
4. Depending on when you get off the 2nd ride, go get a Ronto Wrap from Ronto Roasters. It's just up the stairs from MF. Great breakfast item. You can mobile order it through the app or do walk up.
5. Go to Dok-Ondar's which is a fun store full of easter eggs.
6. Wander through the shops in the market. Get a drink from the water fountain and linger a bit to see if you spot something in the water tank.
7. After Rise, walk back over to Oga's and see how the wait list is, unless you have a reservation already. They do walk ups. There's also blue and green milk stands if you want to sample that.
8. Kylo Ren and the Stormtroopers make an appearance near the First Order Shuttle. It's sporadic but you can probably check with a cast member for the next showing.
Seeing your notes at the top, I agree Rise is not a roller coaster or bumpy. There's one drop but it's nothing. MF is like Star Tours. If you can do Star Tours, you're good to go. You can always ask or volunteer to be the engineer and you can mostly watch.
With mobile ordering, I usually check the times and place my order as I'm making my way over to the restaurant. That way it's ready is a fairly quick amount of time. You'll just have to play it by ear.