The above-described experience makes a lot more sense now that the new changes have been announced. They really must just think we're all fakers trying to abuse the system.
Some of the cast members in Magic Kingdom certainly seemed to have a nasty attitude about it on Saturday. On Tron, in the locker rooms where you must use either a physical card or a Magic Band to open a locker, my annual pass was not scanning. I keep it in a plastic case in my lanyard, as I will drop/lose it if I take it out, and have had no trouble getting it to scan at any other turnstiles. I picked a case on purpose that is almost impossible to open, so that I couldn't lose the card, and taking it out to hope it scans better wasn't an option. I approached a female cast member and asked her for a card, please. She refused to give me one, told me to "use my pass," and waved me away. I told her it wasn't working, and she told me, contempt plain in her voice, that IT'LL WORK!!!
I returned to the locker I was trying to open and continued to try to open the locker, with it continually not registering the card. Instead of helping, the cast member continued to yell at me to KEEP SCANNING IT!! and TAKE IT OUT OF THE CASE!! I was the last person in the room at this point. I was tearing up from the humiliation of it at this point because all the virtual queue people waiting to come into the locker room were staring at me. I started hitting myself in the head, which made them stare more, which made it worse. My mother approached and told the woman to give her a card or she was going to have that cast member's job for bullying an Autistic guest (which I don't agree with, but I can't control her).
We got the card, got the locker open, and I was able to calm myself down with one of my stimming devices. I was able to ride, and the lady actually manning the ride was very patient in showing me how to get on the bike, and let me keep ear defenders on. She was very nice when she asked me to please put my lanyard in the bike's cubby and it was explained it was just so that my pins didn't poke me.
All in all, it was a great ride, but I don't understand why the locker room cast member felt the need to be so nasty. I just wanted a plastic card. I was going to give it back, you return them at the end of the ride anyway.