I rode IASW on Friday, and it was so sad being in that room with a black curtain/wall. Even though I knew ahead of time the scene would be gone, it just bummed me out.
I have to say that the new addition does not sound as bad as what I was worried might be coming. I hope it will incorporate the original look/feel of the space and the different languages. But given the consistent failure of Test Track's new RFID technology, I'm not holding my breath that this will work even 75% of the time.
I was about to say something about how there's no way they'd have time to name everyone in the boat, so you couldn't know whether it is actually working or is just spitting out a default list of names, but then it occurred to me - what if it's not talking to you, but just putting your name up on a screen with all the goodbyes? That would get around the mispronunciation issue, and would allow an entire boat to be recognized at once.
I'm imagining what this would look like some more, and while I still think it's not as bad as what I was worried about, I predict that the overall effect will clash badly with the rest of the attraction. It just seems odd to go from the classic, tactile, 3-dimensional ride to 2 big screens. I hope I'm wrong, though.
One more thing - on Friday, I noticed what appeared to be 2 NexGen poles installed about halfway down the first ramp, before you round the corner. They were covered up. I noticed the same thing on another ride, but I can't remember which one...it must have been Peter Pan or Haunted Mansion. Not sure if this is related to FP+ or the new exit effect.