Okay, well here we go.....
Just got back from my 1st Sept WDW vacation. My vacation was 09/17-0/26 staying at POFQ w/ Free
DDP. Did
MNSSHP twice. Overall a great trip with great weather, things couldn't have gone any better. for DW and I. Now to address "Disney Going Downhill" and what I experenced.
CM's: Ever CM from my resort to the parks to servers in the restaurants were wonderful except for one. At Chef Mickey's we got a waitress that was below average at best. Needed to ask others for refills and for our check etc. She just wasn't with it. But the one sub-par CM does not overshadow the dozens that were so good. All said hi, greeted us with smile, went above and beyond to take care of us etc regardless what we asked or needed.
Resort: POFQ was spotless as was our room. No complaints. Mousekeeping had our room clean and made everyday, trash changed, new towels etc. The only thing I could see was one light above the mirrors was out which didn't bother me because the lights were so bright without it I didn't even notice until 4-5 days into vacation.
Parks: Parks were very clean. No overflowing trash and I always saw multiple CM's on top of park cleanliness and changing trash. Even CM's just wandering the park would clean and pick up trash as they went.
Parks part 2: I did notice more wear on some of the rides and attractions than I noticed in the past. Chipped paint, wear and tear, small broken pieces etc. But these things were in high traffic areas or areas that would receive a lot of guest abuse. But these things do need to be touched up. All the construction etc was a little distracting but not too bad. Except for the giant crane that was right behind the castle.
Restaurants: Again, all were clean and service was top notch except for the one server I noted above. No complaints.
Food: Used free DDP and we ate more and visted more restaurants than usual. All the food was hot, fresh, and very good from the snacks to the table service meals. The prices of all the food has gone up across the board, if I was not on the DDP, I probably would not have visited some of the restaurants that I did. The food was very good, but the prices for most are a bit high. With the higher food prices, that makes the DDP a better seller for WDW, just like higher one day
ticket prices makes annual pass and multi-day tickets a better seller.
Merchandise: Again the prices have climbed here too and a lot of the merchandise is not worth the price tag. I did not buy as much as I did in the past because of the prices and the variety of merchandise did not change much since my last trip in May 09.
Overall, I had another magical trip that was worth the cost. I had a vacation that was an excape from reality that was trully appreciated. They are still providing vacations that are worth the $$$. I understand that they are also not perfect and less than "magical" experiences can occur and I hope that when that happens to someone they address it with the folks at WDW.
I do not believe that WDW is going downhill at all but more trending with the current economy. They have to make cut backs to offer ongoing discounts and promotions to get guests into the resorts and parks. Now with the MK expantion, other this may suffer for the time being, but who knows. I do not think that WDW will ever be able to recover and get back to the level they once were because the masses are expecting discounts and free DDP etc when they go. I would love to see a lot of things return, but unless WDW can go back to limiting discounts, it's not going to happen. We can't have it both ways. The bottom line is that WDW is a business that wants to be successful and make a profit while providing a top of the line, magical experience.
Well, that's about it.. A little longer than I expected.
And yes, when I get a second I will post.
Also, DVC is working on the website so that we can do online bookings - yeah!! 
We even left with 1 meal left over. We did counter service dining and used our meals to cover all three meals.
Now I'm jealous. 
