Once again, I feel compelled to chime in with my two cents...
I too, do not entirely buy the 'Disney is doing this to see what kind of fan base they have with VMK.' (I know that is not the direct quote, it is just the sum of it all) I honestly think it has a lot to do with Sulake and the contract Disney has with them.
That being said, who knows, with all the emails, letters, etc. that have flooded their offices, maybe they have realized how important this little virtual world is to all of us. Maybe they are working right this minute to give us a pay to play version of VMK. Until Disney announces something everything we say here is speculation....and lots of people walking around with their fingers and toes crossed

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Now as for the pay to play VMK, I think it would be great! It would cut down on lots of mules and would probably even cut down on the banning.
Think about it like this: You are paying for your child to play on VMK, he/she has done something to get himself/herself banned. Then he/she comes to you and says "I just got banned, so I need more money from you to create a new account." I am not a parent, but if I was, there is no way I would allow them to create a new account. If they want a new account badly enough, let them save up their allowance, and get it with their own money. I'm willing to bet it would not happen again.
I have joined the sims online, I paid for a month, but since my boyfriend and his girls are not paying I went back to the free test center. The biggest difference I noticed between the pay side and the free side? People were much nicer and more considerate of each other in the pay side. Coincidence? I don't think so.
As for them starting again and all of us losing all our stuff. I think that would be the best way. I too spent hundreds of real $$ to get the pirate quest, in park quest stuff, so I could trade it all away for all my beautiful hats, magic and costumes. But if losing all that means we all get to start fresh and on equal footing, I am more then ok with that, as long as we get to keep our VMK titles. Yes, I will be very sad to see my ears and Minnie hat go, but part of the fun of vmk for me was collecting all that in the first place. It will be nice to get a fresh start, to look forward to new stuff being release (or re-released) again.
About the cost and how many characters you can have on one account. I think if they did it with x amount of player on one account there would be the same problem as was stated above with Toon Town. It would also not solve the mule problem since people like me (not a part of a family that plays) would then have the opportunity to create mules with the x amount I am allowed with my account. But I do think for those families that all play together, maybe there is a way to get it cheaper, like buy one account for (just making this up here) $9.95 a month, or buy two accounts for $15.95 or three accounts for $20.95, etc. You see what I am meaning. It would make it easier/cheaper for the families that play to get the "group" discount rather then having to pay $9.95 for individual characters.

just an idea...