The timeline is my favorite part, so I wouldn't skip over that. The new CC cards are wonderful. I loved the VP cards, but I REALLLLLLLY love the new CC cards :) They have nice maps that highlight where the event took place on the back, the artwork is beautiful and they incorporate more eastern history which the VP cards don't cover as well. OH and they are laminated :D So, all that to say, if you can, I would go with the CC cards, but if cost is an issue, the VP cards are selling really low on places like Ebay right now and still make a great timeline. I haven't purchased the Science cards... I don't think that I will. I just print off that week's sheet from the resource CD to put on our board. These cards don't seem worth the cost to me.
I sure hope you can find those cards at your Target. If you do find them, I think you need two sets. There aren't quite enough cards to do all of the weeks, so I am going to use one set the first semester and one the second.
Cycle 1 is ancients, if you want to do American History, you will need Cycle 3.