I have read thread after thread on here that say Disney is targeting the wealthy and that price increases are the way they are thinning the crowds, etc. This not my opinion. I understand that their aim is anyone willing to pay. I am saying I do not agree with the way they are operating. I am saying that things are getting out of hand when a new "premium, exclusive experience" (and I have to type that tongue in cheek) is announced every other week. If everything is so hunky dory with operations that the aim is to lower crowd levels by charging more money as the current popular opinion holds-why all of the cutbacks? Why are there less hours? Why is ride capacity being reduced? Why are they not adding hours and CM's to handle the hordes descending on the parks? Why are they not adding meets and greets and more entertainment rather than removing characters and taking away attractions? Why are the parks not in the pristine condition they were in back in the '90's and early '00's if they are indeed so profitable -can they not use some of these profits for upkeep? I was appalled by some of the conditions we witnessed on our trip this winter. Why have they not expanded the parks before this if that was really the issue? What company in the history of the world ever decided they wanted LESS customers? Why would they not be IMPROVING everything about their product-just like Walt would have wanted -instead of diminishing it? To me, this all smacks of a money grab-plain and simple. Not a company that cares about the guest experience anymore but a company looking to wring every dollar out of a fire sale.
Just because I can afford it does not mean that I think that the "regular folk" should be priced out. I like mixing with the rabble every once in a while, it keeps me humble
(.....that was also a joke). Why would they not look to include MORE families at all price points instead of downgrading the experience for everyone? I understand that there are people able to pay for high end experiences but just because you are able does not mean you are willing. A fireworks cruise does not reduce the impact of the fireworks for everyone else just like a signature meal does not make a CS meal taste any different. A deluxe resort does not change the quality of the stay in a value resort. This is not a high end experience, unlike the tours and fireworks cruises and signature restaurants and deluxe resorts (well, to Disney they are deluxe but not when compared to the real world but that is a whole other thread). It is an hour of park time to ride and do things that your regular ticket should enable you to do without having to endure ridiculous waits intentionally caused by Disney and a more than likely mediocre breakfast. It is an hour of park time that will not be added to the schedule and included with regular park tickets to help reduce the effects of the crowds. It is making people pay twice for something-regular ticket plus extra ticket for what are in effect pay FP's. The more these types of upsell events are added, the more they are going to take away from the "regular" park experience-it is not a huge leap to state that. It is a not so gradual chiseling away of all of the things Disney has been known for. The standards of the company are eroding, maybe to a point from which they cannot recover.
And yes, I know people have been complaining for years. I don't think it was ever at the level we are seeing now. Time will tell, it always does.
While I appreciate your passion, I think your premise is incorrect. You're throwing out a bunch of accusations that aren't really supported and aren't really true. There's very little -- if any -- evidence of ride capacity being reduced. If anything, with a new Soarin screen and another track at TSMM, ride capacity has been increased. There's no real evidence of cutbacks in staffing -- I know there's annectdotal conversations, but I haven't heard anyone really suggest that staffing has been cut, except for the guy who calls himself an "insider" and suggested a 20 percent cut that never actually materialized (if youw an tto Google it, check the sources quoted in the stories. it's the same guy). I think there are fewer open M&Gs for the same reason there's less on-site entertainment -- there are too many people visiting, and those things cause pedestrian jams. And aside from the standby of "Well, they should just make it bigger with better rides like Universal did," these situations are fairly unavoidable. There's a limited amount of space inside, and anything outside clogs walkways (especially when you have people who start sitting down to reserve parade/firework seating two hours ahead of the show).
The reason they might want less customers is simple physical limitation -- rides have a maximum capacity. They have a time limitation attached to them. you can only fit six people on a Space Mountain rocket, only two can ride on a Dumbo. And just as rides have capacity, so do restaurants and walkways. MK wasn't designed to handle 55,000 people each and every day. So of course there are crowds and of course there are lines. But in the last six years MK has opened New Fantasyland, adding two rides, doubling the capacity of Dumbo, a giant new restaurant and an interactive show. Also a double M&G hall. And they've made the PP line more tolerable. Those are things that may not seem significant when you look at the overkill that is Diagon Alley, but there's actually more to do in NFL (unless you want to buy stuff. Lots of ways to buy stuff in HPLand). And they get no credit for it because people who are posting don't happen to like those rides. That's all fair to do, but it's unfair to say they've done nothing, when in fact they've done a lot.
So when you say they aren't improving, let me ask you this: what other theme park gives you, included with the price of admission, the chance to reserve rides and times? Not an Express Pass tat can double the price of admission, not an add-on, but the chance to enter the park and know that these three things are going to be available to you without a wait. And once you use those three, you can add more. Who else does that? You may have preferred the frantic pace of FP-, and that's fine, but it's hard to suggest the intent wasn't to improve the guest experience for a majority of the visitors.
On to upkeep. It's the crowds, man. it's just the crowds. It's hard to stay diligent in trash removal and street sweeping when you're dodging 55,000 people each and every day. It's hard to maintain restrooms that weren't designed to handle as many people as they do. It's hard for CMs to remain smiley and upbeat all the time when every time they aren't -- for whatever reason -- someone is there to call them on it, file a complaint or kvetch on Facebook.
And the 90s weren't all that great. The early 2000s, when none of us was really sure what the world was going to look like in a decade, was easy to explain. Fewer people. Fewer people means an easier to maintain park. But the people came back, and then came back, and then came back, and suddenly they're up to 20 million a year. 20 million is hard to manage -- that's about the population of Austria, Switzerland and Ireland
combined. A lot of people go through those gates.
One last thing: These extra events are designed for a single purpose -- to allow those people to whom a certain thing is VERY important the chance to do it. If you want to ride 7DMT but couldn't reserve a ride, EMM gives you the chance. If you want to see the fireworks without having to plan your day around it and sit on a curb for two hours, the desert parties give you the chance. You say they take away from the regular guest experience, and I don't think there's any proof of that happening. Unless you want to make the case that staking out a place to watch the fireworks is part of the regular guest experience. What all of these changes have done is take away the inherent advantage of knowing what you are doing -- evening up the playing field for everyone, and take away the advantages park knowledge gave. And you know why? because the park knowledge became common knowledge. Rope Drop used to be a cute little opening show; now it's a madhouse. Back in the nostalgic times you rasp about, maybe a few people grabbed a place to watch the fireworks a half-hour early. Now the streets are lined 120 minutes out. In order to make sure everyone had a good time, they had to limit some people's ability to have a splendiferous time. If you're one of the people who lost out, that sucks. But most people didn't, because now they all have the chance to maximize their experience. You may think it an upsell or a rip off, but the only currency that works to restrict access is, well, currency. The only way to give those few people who want a deserted park in the morning that deserted park in the morning is to make it cost more than the average person wants to pay. Same thing with the fireworks seating, or the cruise or any of them. WDW thinks they have no other way to limit event crowding other than to charge for things.
And i think they are right. After all, the name of this subforum is "Strategies." We are all of us trying to maximize our vacation experience, and one thing that has been proven, if Disney doesn't charge -- and in some cases overcharge -- everything gets crowded very quick.
Sorry for the length. Kind of fun to write, though.
I'm starting to wonder what you go to WDW for. 
