EMH is a huge deal to me and was a massive factor in us first staying onsite. My fave time in the parks is the evenings but the last time we were there (2017) the extra nighttime hours were not really anything to write home about. I seem to remember the parks closing at midnight 'back in the day' and we had 2 hours after that to just mooch around and enjoy the late night atmosphere, even having repeat rides on Splash Mountain etc. That's all gone now, we were lucky to get until midnight last time around.
Bex, when you say 'I don't think there are many benefits left', well, I can only think of 1 and that's location. Last 3 times we have stayed at the Polynesian and although it's my favourite resort, it's a long way short of a deluxe experience compared with regular hotel chains. If all these perks have gone, it just becomes an overpriced, fairly moderate, stay. The rooms are adequate but they are not worth $500+ a night. I don't know, I probably WILL stay onsite in 2022, the plan for 2020 was Beach Club, but it's such a shame that these little perks are being stripped away. 30 minutes before park opening is definitely not a perk for my family, we stay out until the early hours and sleep in until 10am, well, my family do.....i'm an insomniac ;-)
Oh well...