We did the mini-meets route last year because our dates overlapped & we would have missed a lot of the offical events. We still got to meet a lot of DISers & had a great time with them.
This year we plan to be official registered attendees. I felt that me missed out on a lot by not being able to attend official events like the Illuminations party & the Fantasmic party & such.
Either way, you'll have a great time!