I'm not sure what the source of all the disdain for Passholders is but the sweeping generalizations I keep reading in this thread are actually kind of disturbing. You can find people trying to game the system in every single group of guests you look at, not just Passholders. Most using these sweeping generalizations seem to think that Passholders spend no money in the parks each year and are therefore not worth of anything. I assure you that while you can find examples of that situation (in every guest group, not just AP's) most Passholders are actually spending far more annually on resort rooms, food and merchandise than your average once-in-a-lifetime guest staying at Pop- and we're doing that year after year after year.
What this thread was started about, and what most Passholders are complaining about is how poorly and inconsistently Disney has treated Annual Passholders with regards to MyMagic+. The reality is that the key complaint here only impacts that group of Passholders who have not had a WDW resort stay since this whole thing started last year. They've continued to hide behind the 'testing' language despite the fact that it is clear the ability for Passholders to use the service is already in the systems since if you've had a resort stay you are good to go after that for FP+ reservations without a resort stay going forward.
In April 2013, Disney publicly stated that Passholders would have access to most of the features of MyMagic+ including advance reservation for FP+ 'later this year' (. Since that date we've learned that Passholders who have had a resort stay now have full access to all features of the program including advance reservation of FP+ but those who have not had a resort stay have been excluded from the program. When pushed for why this is the case, Disney is refusing to answer the question and also will not answer any questions about whether (or when) all Passholders will have the same privileges.
Meanwhile when it comes to local Passholders who visit the parks regularly, we've continued to see our ability to experience headliner attractions in the parks made progressively more difficult each month with a major transition in October, 2013. When friends are visiting from out of town we can't book in advance, so we can't ride with them when sharing a day in the parks. When we visit the parks, if we're not there within an hour of rope drop all FP's are gone for most headliner attractions on the weekend days when most of us are able to visit.
The way some here look down on Passholders with almost contempt is really amazing. Folks have tried to tell us we don't spend enough money, we can go anytime so we don't deserve it, and a whole lot more. In my case I spend over $900 on admission media alone each year and much, much more on food & beverage as well as merchandise and usually at least one Deluxe resort weekend each year. All most of us are asking is that Disney communicate what is going on and actually answer questions on the topic instead of continuing to deflect them. And then we're asking that they deliver on their published commitment to make this available to ALL PASSHOLDERS, not just a select number of them who have had a resort stay (even 1 night) and now are able to book their FP+ in advance before they visit the parks.
