I assume the pipes you are talking about cutting are the external pipes to/from the valve. If so the you will have to cut them to pull the valve off to access the inside of the tank. Once you get the valve off and the filter drained of water it's just a PITA with a shop-vac to get the sand out. The laterals will fold like an umbrella so the whole assembly can be removed out the top and inspected. As for sand getting finer, only in geological time...sort of. Yes it does get beat up a little but that shouldn't be the problem. My filter and pump are the same combo as yours and my sand is 11 years old or so and no problems other than I should dump in more next time the top is off because of backwash loss over the years.
When you reassemble the pipes you can use couplings that can be taken apart (Home Depot etc) or I use straight auto radiator hose pieces slipped over the 1.5" PVC pipe and held with hose clamps. Works great and lets things move a little and cuts down in transmitter noise. I think the hose comes in 3 foot sections, maybe 2 foot, and is available at good auto stores in various diameters. I say use the cheaper stuff because some of the really tough stuff is expensive. Even the cheap stuff is designed for high pressure and high temps so you'll be OK. Also the cheaper stuff is thinner and easier to work with when slipping it on and off the pipes. You can leave about a 3-4" gap between pipe ends and slip the hose on. Make sure is overlaps the pipe end by at least an inch, more is better.
Al