this will burn yer britched. me and the wife booked two separate, simultaneous vacations under the 4/3 for june in january. there are 6 of us total, and since we had two reservations, we just asked for connecting rooms. they are guaranteed. each ressie was about 1050. we got a code for van rental totaling 248 for the week.
its been my understanding that when the number of children exceed the number of adults on a multi room ressie, that the resort is obligated to give connecting rooms...
Just to understand: Each room was 1,050 (totalling 2,100)?
Polineedyan. No need to answer my previous question. I browsed your posting history to understand a little more about your deal (I really didn't knew how the 4/3 worked). I still have some doubts regarding your price (if it includes taxes or not) and the ages of the children in your party, as it affects the situation of the ticket pricing that are included on your 4/3 deal.
Let me start by saying that I originally stated that I started my planning late so that might have affected the availability in the value resorts. Let me also state that I don't have a problem (I think) of admitting when I am wrong.
To make things a little bit stranger, your trip and my trip are in the exact same dates. Maybe we will share a waiting line or so.
For the comparison I will take into account your deal assuming taxes are included. As for the issue of the ages of the children in your party, I will asume two 10+ and two 3-9. This would mean your party has one more 10+ year old than mine.
Your Deal: Two standard rooms in All-Star Music for seven days in June for six including taxes and 7-day tickets for all of your party, being regular tickets without passhopper or any other features, all for 2,100 USD.
Our Deal: One two-bedroom suite in Nickelodeon Family Suites for seven days in June for five including taxes and resort fee for 918.00 USD. I would have to buy the tickets. I was in fact going to purchase the 7-day tickets without passhopper or water parks. For my party of five, it will add up for 1,140 USD. Adding up both expenses, we are talking about 2,058 USD. I have to take into account the ticket of the extra children in your party, being a 10+ (243.00 USD) so the comparison has to be done with a figure of 2,301 USD.
So there we have the difference: 201 USD in your favor. Obviously you have two bathrooms; also 520 sq.ft. of room compared with the 485 sq.ft. of the Nick Family Suite (we might call it a tie).
Let's make something clear: you feel you had a very good deal with the 4/3 and I happened to find a very good deal in the Nick Hotel.
Kid age assumptions: if one of the children in your party happens to be less than three years old, one of your tickets would be free for the parks, so the 200 USD difference will be erased.
Tax assumptions: all my pricing includes taxes and I am not sure yours does. If it doesn't, the 200 USD difference will reduce substantially.
For my closing arguments I will go back to assume that I will end up paying 200 USD more thay your deal (as if it were equivalent). I will start writing about subjective things now.
For me, this trip is all about my kids. I have stayed before on the All-Star Movies Resort when my older ones were 5 and 3 (my most recent trip). There's something about "Movies" that I don't find in "Music, Sports or Pop". It has to do with the characters. When I looked into booking on-site, I looked at Movies. Then I found about Nick Hotel. I have really never been there, but I think that I expect to have at least the same inroom situation of the value resorts, never less. My kids now are older and they are not into Disney's characters as they were the last time. They watch more Nick, and they are past "Dora" and more into the "Spongebob" and "Fairly Godparents" thing. I really feel that Nick Hotel will give our kids a better experience that Movies does.
One important thing for us was the swimming pool. We decided not to do any water parks this time, and the Nick Hotel swimming pool seems to be a perfect fit for us. We plan to visit parks every day with afternoon breaks. The pool seems very to be very interesting, though we expect them to be crowded. The hotel is very close to Disney (about the same distance from Epcot than ASM; closer to DTD, but farthest from AK and DHS).
Back to the 200 USD. I won't tell you that I will end up getting it back via dining savings, because you will have a car too and might go dining anywhere you want just as we will. We have refrigerator and microwave, so we might end up saving some breakfasts and prepare better for our snacks in the parks.
What I can tell you is this: If right now I asked me to trade deals with yours and save 200 USD, I don't think I would do it. Probably you wouldn't do it either, so we are back to the original question of the post, and many of the answers already given: the situation for each family is different depending on there preferences, ages, expectations, etc. as I tried to say on my now removed post regarding relativity and Einstein. I feel that there isn't a right or wrong, better or worse answer. It all depends.
PS. I wouldn't change my 2004 trip to ASMovies for Nick (if it would have existed) due to our situation of that time.