I get what you are saying, but the biggest thing about the perks is that they could disappear. You could spend the extra $$$$ and next year there are no perks at all - or none that you would use. I really don't think MM for instance will last much longer - its an expensive sales technique that really doesn't seem to be driving sales. The Epcot lounge will disappear when Disney decides they have a better use for that space. We've lived through multiple different values of discounts on passes and on dining and merchandise. For me, its less about taking it for granted, and more about you can't count on those discounts being there. The only one we would have regularly used, disappeared after our first trip (discounts on park hoppers).