Originally posted by Fievel
Sorry...Not all AP's are this way, but a bunch are...I was there right at the start of the 100 years celebration, and the AP's that were there were talking like they should get to skip lunch lines, ride lines, or have attractions open only to them at certain times of day. 
I have been an AP holder for a good long number of years and before that had a season pass for about as long as I can remember. That being said, I think it’s a good thing that they give certain special privileges to AP holders. Regardless of if they are locals or out-of-towners that come down a few times a year, these are WDW’s most loyal customers.
Many of the people in these parks daily may only come that one time or it could very well be years before most of them ever come back. Before and after hour events and things like the AP lounge are wonderful perks that I greatly appreciate Disney offering. I spend a LOT of money in the parks over the course of a year on merchandise as well as counter and pricey table service food and Disney can count on me and a lot of others like me to be in the parks during the slow season when they would otherwise have trouble filling restaurant reservations and making concessions sales in the parks.
The vast majority of serious pin collectors you see walking around the parks are AP holders and that hobby alone can cost thousands of dollars a year. I buy the AP pins but as for things like the shirts, I could really care less... That kind of stuff doesn’t appeal to me. Some people are proud to be such devote fans of the parks and want that kind of a thing and I think that if Disney can make an extra $20 bucks off them by selling a shirt of hat like that to them, they ought to…
As for things like front of the line access, I don’t think that is something that needs to be, nor should be offered. If you have a season pass, your tickets usable times are never the most “prime times” when the park is overly busy and for both season and annual pass holders that are local, a person has the advantage of riding when there is little to no line for things. The absolute most that I’ll wait for just about anything in WDW is around 35 minutes. Anything more than that and I consider it a waste of time because it’s something I’ve already done and something I know I can do again some time with little to no wait. If the line is too bad I walk on and do it some other time when I’m in the park. I have a feeling that this is the thought of a lot of people with these passes that can go to the parks on a moments notice. There are things you learn, like never ride Spaceship earth in the morning because there will be a line but just about anytime after noon it’s a walk-on. I’ve walked past things and commented that they must think I’m crazy to wait in a line like that but it’s not so much that I think *I* shouldn’t have to wait as much as it is that I know that I’d rather waste an hour walking around a park enjoying the atmosphere or doing the things that almost never have long lines like IASW or Tom Sawyers Island or POC than waste it in line for a single attraction. At some point in the year, just about every attraction in WDW is a walk-on and I am content to wait till it only takes 5 minutes to get on Space Mountain to ride it…
People come in all shapes and sizes and mentalities and it’s a lot like people on here. We have a “premium” group that supports the site financially and a group that does not… Some in the premium group may automatically expect super special treatment for their money and think they can get away with whatever they want as a result. That statement would not be accurate for most of us though… The truth is that some of us do sometimes get a little special treatment from other members and even by Steve but it has more to do with seniority than money and I would guess that most in the premium group have far greater respect for this site and the guy running it than a lot of people who register to ask a question before their visit and never come back as well as others that don’t appreciate the site as much. I think it’s the same with APs and Disney. When you aren’t one, you might develop opinions about some that are based on what you think you see and when you are one, you see things in a different but in no way worse way.
very very well said