I have a procedure for all of this.

First, I rip to WAV anyway, because I use the --nogap switch in LAME all the time. If the "hidden track" is part of the last track on the disc, separated by much silence, I will open them in an editor and cut out the silence to create two new WAV files, one the original track number and name, the other's track number being +1, and usually named Untitled.

If the "hidden track" is its own track separated from the rest of the album by many short silent tracks, I simply cut the in-between tracks. I don't want silence in my car; it's a Civic (road noise). But if the in-between tracks actually contain audio, i.e., transitional sounds, then I will keep them.

As for whether or not this hidden track nonsense is entertaining -- I never gave it much thought. I have just accepted it as something that is and I'm happy to have the extra music. Since I use my empeg, I don't mind the few extra steps necessary to avoid wasting space with silence.