I was just over on the DL side of disboards and a thread over there got me to thinkng about this one.
Even though this thread has dealt primarily with WDW resorts the overall WDW quality control, cleanliness and money spent on the parks has been brought up a lot too. And
Disneyland and its current state of being in better shape, has been brought up.
Remember that the way DL looks now hasn't come without some major inconveniences and lost magic too. For instance when its castle got its makeover, it was covered in a tarp for some time. Not just walled off, completely covered. I was there in September of 2004 and believe me, while I knew it would be beautiful and it was good to see DL management taking a huge interest in the park, it stunk to see it covered in a huge blue tarp!
Right now DCA is getting a huge udate and overhaul to the tune of one billion dollars. You also have rides down for total rehaul, walls up and the big lagoon drained and empty. Magic buster for now for sure.
Fantasmic is improved and wasn't showing at all for months. From what I hear its incredible, but I also know that if and when WDW shells out the money to do those improvements on DHS's version, people on this board will complain about how its down for their trip, which is understandable but still contrary to all of us wanting them to update and make everything magical and perfect.
Some DL rides shut down for 2-4 weeks twice a year for holiday overlays which while very neat and fun, stinks while they are down. I have seen people on this side of disboards comment that HM and IASW at MK should do that too, but for those going in the weeks they are putting up and taking down those overlays, that won't feel magical. They shelled out big money for their trip and they want to take their kids on those classics. Maybe WDW execs have figured this out and that is why they don't do those overlays.
At one point a whole section of DL's walkway was torn up making one of the most frequented routes getting from Tomorrowland into FL a no go. And from the monorail it looked awful. But its nice now.
I guess my point is that DL can do this stuff because their dymanic is is more of a local guest population who come regularly not so many tourists, doing once in a lifetime type trips they have saved years for. But when its happening its a bummer. I am excited for the DCA changes but know that walking through a torn up park with a bunch of stuff closed will sort of stink this October. It will be like 2011 before that park is really what I'd call magical.
So maybe WDW hesitates to do the big overhauls because they know that in doing that, thousands of guests will lose out on classics and experiences they want to do since they are shelling out the big bucks. And of course part of it is the greediness of execs which you see in any major corporation. And the economy too.
WDW seems to have spent more money creating whole new parks. DL can't do that (not since the late 90's when they built DCA from what was a parking lot) so they spend their money working with what they have.
I agree with others that the magic is there. I know some of you have gone for years and you compare it those days. Its easy to have a critical eye for something that you have been looking at for years. But for me, I still find it and still see it in the looks on my kids' face and the looks on other people's faces. We roade Soarin with a family who had never ridden and it made the ride so magical. In spite of the fact that for the first couple of sequences there was some big spot on the screen that I swear was there last time! Which had I not ridden so many times, I wouldn't have had the time or wherewithal to notice. Its not perfect but then for me, its still as close as anything comes.