Santa,
When I was learning ts 3, I was doing the same thing. It would have been really easy for me to skip the 3 and go to five, and I considered it, but I knew when I got the five I would not likely go back and get the 3, so I worked on the 3 until I got it dialed. It is seriously so fun to land and a little more technical because you have to slow your rotation and land toe edge away from the boat instead of using line tension to help you ride out.
I am so glad I went 3 first. I went back to the 5 yesterday and almost got it in a few tries, hopefully today I will. Good luck to you...oh and the thing that helped me dial in the 3 is: WAIT!
Wait until you get passed the second wake to intiate and pull the handle. The longer you wait the easier it is
I hope you get to ride this weekend!