I wonder why you are referring to "the king of imagineering"?
The last two things that were built/constructed in wdw that really "wowed" - my opinion - were tower of terror and blizzard beach...
They have done some
Decent/good things...but not nearly to an "untouchable" level since.
To me...that's means a choice between "can't" and "won't"...
Neither of which is acceptable for the price.
My opinion
I am not talking about "newness." In all fairness that is a different argument and you do have some good points about doing new things at WDW. I am talking about overall theming and Imagineering.
Overall, I haven't visited anywhere, including Universal, that has immersive theming or Imagineering anything like Disney, regardless of age. HP is probably one of the first places to achieve this type of high level of theming. But it is only one area of a big park. (2 areas of 2 big parks, now.) And, from what I read, there are things Disney has done (many not at WDW) that show they are still at the forefront of theming and Imagineering. I read that Disney Sea in Japan has no comparison in the entire world! Then there is technology. Yes, Universal bought a cool robotic arm from a company (Disney bid, too, I read.) and it makes for cool rides, but Disney's animatronics are generations beyond anything else. (Maybe Uni's desire to use 3D and screens in Spidy and HP is smart because they know they can't compete with animatronics.) It may not be important to some, but the next gen animatronics with the flexible skin is amazing! The Wardrobe and Lumiere in the new meet and greet for Belle, the Cars' mouths in Cars Land, the flowing hair on Ariel, the Dwarves on 7DMT are unlike anywhere else.
While the idea and theming were pretty good, the animatronics of the Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park at Universal were not anywhere near as good as anything at Disney! (I understand an update may be in order for JP due to the new movies. That would be awesome!) It was very, very, noticeable the first time we visited! Both my kids noted that the dino's weren't very good and didn't move much. The T-Rex had what appeared to be a free hanging cloth covering for a throat/chest area. Again, the ride was fun and the overall idea was good, but tech/Imagineering had a lot to be desired. But it isn't just age. The dinos at the Energy Pavilion in Epcot, even though they are very old, were better than JP.
There is far more to Imagineering than just a new ride techs. When we walk around Animal Kingdom we are amazed at the Imagineering that went into making you feel like you are in the woods. The views from some of the bridges could be in another country and don't look like a theme park at all! Of course, this is all my opinion and that of my family alone.
So, overall, not just recently or last 10 years, and not just in Orlando, Disney's theming and Imagineering is still two generations ahead of everyone else.
And Pandora is going to put them further ahead. THEN, whenever it gets here (!?) Star Wars will do the same.
I am excited about the possibilities as Universal is picking up their game. Maybe they will do something top-tier or even ground breaking when they redo JP. But whatever they do, right now they still have a long way to go.
