diff --git a/ui/widget.js b/ui/widget.js
index 41425b1a9d3..2fd4ada5320 100644
--- a/ui/widget.js
+++ b/ui/widget.js
@@ -190,11 +190,6 @@ $.widget.bridge = function( name, object ) {
 			args = widget_slice.call( arguments, 1 ),
 			returnValue = this;
 
-		// allow multiple hashes to be passed on init
-		options = !isMethodCall && args.length ?
-			$.widget.extend.apply( null, [ options ].concat(args) ) :
-			options;
-
 		if ( isMethodCall ) {
 			this.each(function() {
 				var methodValue,
@@ -219,6 +214,11 @@ $.widget.bridge = function( name, object ) {
 				}
 			});
 		} else {
+			// allow multiple hashes to be passed on init
+			if ( args.length ) {
+				options = $.widget.extend.apply( null, [ options ].concat(args) );
+			}
+
 			this.each(function() {
 				var instance = $.data( this, fullName );
 				if ( instance ) {