Last Minute Wizard Adventure... How would you do it?

[AJA]

I'm accustomed to the Disney way - pre-purchase tickets and book fast passes. Is there any advantage to pre-purchasing tickets and AP online?

With our AP there isn’t a reason to purchase early online unless Universal were going to make a huge price jump (the nominal few dollars “yearly” increase isn’t worth it for us to purchase early).

With regular tickets you might find a deal or promo you have to purchase by a certain date. But usually here at the Dis we find out that info early anyway.

Universal Package Deals are almost never worth it.

Now for separately priced events (such as Halloween Horror) its almost always better to purchase ahead and online instead of at the gate. I think our AP HHN tickets were approx $20 cheaper each!

 

[Pop Goes the Weasel]

Thanks for all the advice. We just got back yesterday. Here are some of the lessons learned:

• Seasonal Passes were a great idea. They allowed me to get a family suite at the Cabana Bay for close to $100/night. It also allowed us to gain access to the park on the night we arrived. This was a nice bonus time we used to buy a wand at Olivander's and see the sights. We would not have purchased a ticket for arrival day.
• We were sent all the way to the park to pick up our passes. There we had to wander around to figure out where to go. When we found it, we had to wait way too long to get them. This should have been available at check in or at least somewhere in the resort.
• The Cabana Bay is a lot of fun. It has nice pools, and the theming is great. And the price (especially with AP discount) is hard to beat. But the rooms feel a little worn and crusty. Maybe this varies by room and building. The common areas are pristine. The family suite was a nice upgrade as it gains you a small living room and kitchenette. It would be pretty tight for the whole family of 6, but for the two of us, it was more comfortable than a standard room. Family suites at Disney are much better (and also much more $$).
• The week before Thanksgiving was quiet. An express pass would have been completely wasted. We never waited longer than 15 minutes for anything. Most rides were walk on. We spent 3 full days. Each day at mid day, we went back to the hotel to chill out and hit the pool. We did all the wand locations several times. We rode Gringot's 7 times. We took the Hogwarts Express at least 9 times. MiB 5x, Simpsons 2x, Transformers 2x... you get the idea.
• Early access is kinda nice I guess, but it's a bit of a scam. The early access is only for Universal Studios, not IoA. And in that extra hour, only two (yes two) rides were open - Gringot's and Minions.
• We skipped Hagrid's. Early access doesn't apply to IoA, and if you start in Universal and ride over to IoA, you will get there after the crowd that is gathered at the gate waiting to rush to the ride. The line is closed every day about 3 hours before park closing. My son recognized that he could do a lot of other fun stuff in the time it would take to ride Hagrid's. He's saving it for a return trip when everybody is lined up for 3 hours to get on the next new ride.
• The walkway from Cabana to Citywalk is lovely. It's mostly downhill from hotel to Citywalk. It's a tougher walk back. It's faster to walk to IoA. If you're going to Universal, take the bus. The busses were generally quick and easy.

In all, my son and I had a fantastic time.