Hi Joann!
The great thing about Walt Disney World is there are options for every budget. The value resorts are perfect for a family of 4 and you can still enjoy all of the benefits of staying on property. You can often find deals by booking a vacation package and depending on the time of year you go, you can snag a free dining special. Take a look at the Disney World website and play around with resorts and packages. I like to do research on how much it would be if I booked everything separately, and more often than not I come out less expensive by going with Disney for my whole vacation.
Figure out ahead of time how many days you want to stay. For first time visitors, I like to suggest a full day at each park and if time/budget allows, a second day at the Magic Kingdom. If you want to add extras like water park days, you will need to factor that into your plan as well.
If you are unsure if you want to park hop or not, start out with basic Magic Your Way tickets. If you decide you want to park hop while you are here, you can always upgrade your tickets at any time.
Get your boys involved! (That is, if it's not a surprise) Have them look through the
attractions list and pick out a few things that they want to do and plan your days around those. You can filter by height and location to the left.
Make advance dining reservations. The restaurants at Disney are very popular, especially character meals. You can book dining 180 days in advance, so have an idea of where you want to eat, what time and what day.
That will get you started. Please come back and visit when you think of more questions!
Have a magical day!
Leslie