We just checked out of the Nick Hotel this morning, and after being a little leery of the place because of some of the reviews on this thread, other threads, and trip advisor, we had a great time and no problems.
We checked in on Sunday morning about 10:30 with no wait though the lobby was crowded. They gave us our wristbands and a map of the property and told us they would call us as soon as our rooms was ready and were the restrooms were if we wanted to change so we could go to the pool. We changed and headed for the Lagoon pool and was able to find loungers with no problems in the little kids section so DW could watch DD2 play while DD7 and I hit the big pool and slides. The front desk called about 12:45 to tell us our room was ready which was fine since it was getting really hot and they were getting to shut the pool down at 1 (they close at 1 and 4 for 45 minutes to clean and there is a huge sign poolside that tells you this so your not surprised...the water slide and kiddie area stays open).
We had a two bedroom suite (Fairly Odd Parents, we wanted SpongeBob, but forgot to request it, so our fault, not the hotel) which was more than big enough for the 4 of us (the 3 tv's was nice since LOST was on that night so I could lock myself up in the grownup room to watch). The room was very clean and looked in very good condition (I had read reports of the "character wallpaper" peeling, but it's not even wall paper, their like thin plastic panels attached to the wall). It had a small fridge, sink, and microwave which was nice to keep the drinks and snacks we brought cool and to wash out the kids cups. The bathroom was a nice size and seemed very clean. Our room faced out so we didn't have to deal with pool noise, but we were in a far building so it was a walk to the main pool, but just an elevator ride down to the Oasis. After resting two hours, DD7 and I went to the Oasis pool (the so called "quiet pool") which was also nice, though not as big and the slides dumped out into the pool (at about 3.5 feet) instead of a run out. They also have a splash area for the little one here too.
I got what I considered a very good rate of $99 a night through Girl Scouts, but we still had to pay the $25 a night resort fee, but $125 a night was still a good deal in my opinion. What I found funny was that they listed a whole bunch of things that the resort fee covered, then when you went to use them they tried to pass it off as they were giving them to you for free. The internet is the best example as the resort fee pays for your internet, but the in room info says that it's complimentary. Another thing was the complimentary resort towels (again, something that is suppose to be covered by your $25) at the main pool they made you sign out saying you would be charged $5 a towel if not returned. I would understand if there were like extra soft Nick towels, but they were the same scratchy ones you get in most hotels. I doubt anyone would want to steal them, so I don't know why we couldn't take them back to the room and throw them in with our dirty bath towels (we always took our beach towels with us so it wasn't a big deal)
The character breakfast was what it was...your typical breakfast buffet with characters walking around (though you had to go stand in line for SpongeBob, but the line was never long). Was it worth the $20 a person? Not really, but neither are most of the character meals at Disney, but the kids enjoyed and that's why we did it. We didn't do the dinner buffet choosing the counter service place instead (you have a choice of Subway or a place that serves burgers, fries, chicken strips, pizza, etc). The arcade was fun, just your basic arcade with video and ticket redemption games. We bought the Unlimited wrist bands for the 4D theatre ($12.95 each) which was a good buy as we ended up going to watch all the movies (8 in all I think, and it's $6.95 for a single ticket). We also saw the Slime Time Live show in Studio Nick which they say you need to make a reservation for (which we did) but there were still quite a few empty chairs so if you don't make a ressie, there is a stand by line. I can't really talk about the transportation to the parks as we never left the hotel, but I did see the schedule and it seems like there are about 3 or four pick up/drop offs each day.
So overall we had a really great experience. If you can get a good rate and plan on staying at the hotel to take advantage of what it offers, I would recommend it. If your looking to stay there in conjunction with your Disney vacation, I don't know if I would recommend it unless you get a really good rate, don't mind missing out on some of the offerings of the hotel, and have your own car. Oh, and if you hate wristbands, it might not be the place for you as you have to keep it on during your stay. After two days I was sick of mine, I can't imagine if you were there for a week.
