One of the great things is all the stuff people, but especially parents, can try without dropping money just in case they don't care for it. I think I've had all the HP drinks with the fishy green ale being my favorite. Sadly Duff beer isn't included but has been available.
That's always my favorite of the butterbeers, always glad I'm there for the winter Meetups because I can't imagine drinking it in June in Florida.
I didn't like popcicle personally
One year my group counted the butterbeers we drank and it was...scary lol
In our experience, the parks are extremely crowded in that 5-9 period. And, sometimes, depending on the security team working that night, the crowds stay pretty bad for an additional hour or so after official close. For our last meetup this past November, the first night was crowded most of the night, and we discovered that regular park guests had been hiding in the area around one of the water rides in US that was closed but not closed off. We reported that to the OI team and noticed that the area was actually roped off with security guards blocking it the next night. Huge difference!
The event is great, though, and you get hotel discounts in addition to free food etc. You can math out the hotel savings and how much food/butterbeer you think your family will consume and see if the math maths out for ya
We've been itching to do the event but Military Freedom Pass is $200 per person for 2 parks or $245 for three (Volcano Bay) with unlimited park entry. We booked Premier with CC points so it cost us almost nothing.
The fishy green ale is surprisingly good! I thought I would be a pumpkin juice gal but it was just okay.
Be aware you may not be able to hop in a popular ride line right before closing as you normally would. Mainly Hagrids, the line may close WELL before park close if it's super busy (as it did on the Nov 2022 meetup Sat night).
Yes, it's a normal park day until official close (except as above, that Hagrids line might close early).
Honestly we're in the minority who would ride Velocicoaster over Hagrid's any day of the week.
Yes, for Friday nights the parks close at 7 and for Saturdays at 8.
That's what I do as well.
We have been extremely unlucky on our November/December/January trips the past few years...always seem to get mid to high 80s 
Me too. I already booked rooms a few months ago since we're going the weekend of thanksgiving, but hoping for some better rates
It should be. The rates were better than what I could have gotten with a AP discount
