I'd clarify that I don't think they need to have more thrill rides per se, at least where thrill ride is largely defined as a high-G force rollercoaster type ride.
While I love the classics, too (hey, we rode Small World with a 10 yo boy who didn't complain before, during or after), they're only classics if you have a long park history (I went first in '78) or as a kid were steeped in Disney characters and lore. To a lot of younger people they are slow, boring and the cultural references aren't there for them at all.
Now, I think a few of the rides have such majesty and excellence in set decoration and theme execution that even cynics can be somewhat wowed. But some of the animatronics appear clunky and not really any more advanced than a high end department store Christmas display -- the only one I walked away from still impressed was Epcot's American Experience.
I think Disney will have a real problem in front of them in 10-15 years from both people with travel dollars to spend who have no grounding in Disney lore and whose experiences of the rides are boring relative to the digital media they are so used to. Why spend the money Disney demands for an unfamiliar thematic experience with "historical" attractions? These people will be thinking "if I want to get spun in circles at 2.5G or ride a coaster, I'll drive to my regional theme park for a day" and "if I want an immersive, narrative experience, I'll pop on my 3D goggles and turn up the Playstation 6".
I also think that the general ride capacity is a huge problem. The rides and park were, in my estimation, designed with much smaller crowds in mind. I would wager that WDW on property resort capacity NOW is probably a majority percentage of all Orlando hotel capacity in 1971. The parks are drawing huge numbers.
Disney's solutions seem weak to this. Fastpass -- merely a band-aid and IMHO the advance scheduling only adds to vacation anxiety and hyperscheduling, something I do not want on a vacation. Add more rides -- limited by geography and the inability to make room by removing older rides regarded as classic. This leads to the problem of new rides being short by virtue of space and by the need to cycle through lots of passengers.
I think they need to make more LONG rides -- how about a half-hour ride? -- that would be able to absorb a big crowd and couple it with continuous loading and unloading to keep lines moving. I think digital technology is important for this because it helps defray some of the cost of relying exclusively on elaborate settings and expansive, interior vistas. These shouldn't be eliminated in favor of digital, but enhanced by digital. Plus I think that digital will be an expectation for people in 10-20 years.
Unfortunately doing something like this will require major overhauls of the parks and removal of some classics to make room.
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This trip is for mom and dad, and so grandma and grandpa get to see the little nugget.
