diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
index 36788f24093..e2bd662618b 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ class PlayBook(object):
         play_basedirs = []
 
         if type(playbook_data) != list:
-            raise errors.AnsibleError("parse error: playbooks must be formatted as a YAML list")
+            raise errors.AnsibleError("parse error: playbooks must be formatted as a YAML list, got %s" % type(playbook_data))
 
         basedir = os.path.dirname(path) or '.'
         utils.plugins.push_basedir(basedir)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook/play.py b/lib/ansible/playbook/play.py
index a2fdc643f22..cb8665dcf56 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook/play.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook/play.py
@@ -484,14 +484,9 @@ class Play(object):
                 include_vars = {}
                 for k in x:
                     if k.startswith("with_"):
-                        utils.deprecated("include + with_items is an unsupported feature and has been undocumented for many releases because of this", "1.5")
-                        plugin_name = k[5:]
-                        if plugin_name not in utils.plugins.lookup_loader:
-                            raise errors.AnsibleError("cannot find lookup plugin named %s for usage in with_%s" % (plugin_name, plugin_name))
-                        terms = template(self.basedir, x[k], task_vars)
-                        items = utils.plugins.lookup_loader.get(plugin_name, basedir=self.basedir, runner=None).run(terms, inject=task_vars)
+                        utils.deprecated("include + with_items is a removed deprecated feature", "1.5", removed=True)
                     elif k.startswith("when_"):
-                        included_additional_conditions.insert(0, utils.compile_when_to_only_if("%s %s" % (k[5:], x[k])))
+                        utils.deprecated("\"when_<criteria>:\" is a removed deprecated feature, use the simplified 'when:' conditional directly", None, removed=True)
                     elif k == 'when':
                         if type(x[k]) is str:
                             included_additional_conditions.insert(0, utils.compile_when_to_only_if("jinja2_compare %s" % x[k]))
diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook/task.py b/lib/ansible/playbook/task.py
index 849a1b26aba..be26c8f699c 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook/task.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook/task.py
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ class Task(object):
                     utils.warning("It is unneccessary to use '{{' in conditionals, leave variables in loop expressions bare.")
                 ds[x] = "jinja2_compare %s" % (ds[x])
             elif x.startswith("when_"):
-                utils.deprecated("The 'when_' conditional is a deprecated syntax as of 1.2. Switch to using the regular unified 'when' statements as described in ansibleworks.com/docs/.","1.5")
+                utils.deprecated("The 'when_' conditional has been removed. Switch to using the regular unified 'when' statements as described in ansibleworks.com/docs/.","1.5", removed=True)
 
                 if 'when' in ds:
                     raise errors.AnsibleError("multiple when_* statements specified in task %s" % (ds.get('name', ds['action'])))
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ class Task(object):
         self.only_if = ds.get('only_if', 'True')
 
         if self.only_if != 'True':
-            utils.deprecated("only_if is a very old feature and has been obsolete since 0.9, please switch to the 'when' conditional as described at http://ansibleworks.com/docs","1.5")
+            utils.deprecated("only_if is a very old feature and has been obsolete since 0.9, please switch to the 'when' conditional as described at http://ansibleworks.com/docs","1.5",removed=True)
 
         self.when    = ds.get('when', None)
         self.changed_when = ds.get('changed_when', None)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py
index 126e86869a1..9a57a2ef521 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py
@@ -979,12 +979,21 @@ def listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms, basedir, inject):
 
     return terms
 
-def deprecated(msg, version):
+def deprecated(msg, version, removed=False):
     ''' used to print out a deprecation message.'''
-    if not C.DEPRECATION_WARNINGS:
+
+    if not removed and not C.DEPRECATION_WARNINGS:
         return
-    new_msg = "\n[DEPRECATION WARNING]: %s. This feature will be removed in version %s." % (msg, version)
-    new_msg = new_msg + " Deprecation warnings can be disabled by setting deprecation_warnings=False in ansible.cfg.\n\n"
+
+    if not removed:
+        if version:
+            new_msg = "\n[DEPRECATION WARNING]: %s. This feature will be removed in version %s." % (msg, version)
+        else:
+            new_msg = "\n[DEPRECATION WARNING]: %s. This feature will be removed in a future release." % (msg)
+        new_msg = new_msg + " Deprecation warnings can be disabled by setting deprecation_warnings=False in ansible.cfg.\n\n"
+    else:
+        raise errors.AnsibleError("[DEPRECATED]: %s.  Please update your playbooks." % msg)
+
     wrapped = textwrap.wrap(new_msg, 79)
     new_msg = "\n".join(wrapped) + "\n"