wow- tuff question & i can only speak from personal experience. when doing an upgrade i have found it best to do it all at one time for 2 reasons: the mess is a one shot deal, and the thought of making another mess stops me cold & it never gets done. the chance of nicks and dings to cabinets while ripping up a floor is high on the scale of 'eesch- wish i did this before.'

It's best to do all the flooring at the same time. And, no, you're not going to ruin your cabinets. There is one exception, though, and that would be the installation of site-finished hardwood floors. Now THAT could result in some bumps and bruises to your cabinets if done by carelessly. :)

Laminate flooring should not be under your cabinets - especially if it is a floating floor. If it is not under the cabinets, it should be able to be removed and new flooring installed without any problem as long as you do not plan on changing the layout.

When it comes time to do the flooring, be sure that the new flooring, which will go under the dishwasher, is not so tall as to make the dishwasher no longer fit. We added 3/4" hardwood and did not have this problem, but some have, so just measure that clearance well before you do new flooring.

It is also good to have an idea of what you want to do so you can coordinate countertops and cabinet color / stain with the potential flooring.

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I do believe the laminate is not under the cabinets. So hopefully I should be OK. Thanks for the pointer about the dishwasher. I did not think of that!