In my opinion, RSR completely encompasses everything that makes Disney Disney.
first of all, walking into Carsland literally took my breath away. It was like walking into the movie, and I was blown away by the detail.
The ride is just perfect ... it's got characters and details from the movie, little things that change up each time you ride, so its not exactly the same each time, and then there's the "thrill" at the end. The race at the end is fun ... it's no space mountain thrill, or anything on that level, but it was a "thrill" in that it was a little fast, a little exciting and made you hold on a little bit ( ... or throw your hands in the air).
It's the details during the dark part of the ride that make it a uniquely Disney experience ... its also something that everyone can ride. My DS4 couldn't get enought and my 70 year old mother must have rode it 5 or 6 times, too.
It was just the. perfect. Disney. experience.
And I'm not a Disney fanatic or anything ... only been to WDW and DLR once each in the modern era (though I lived in the OC back in the 70s and visited a lot as a child).