As a native of NOLA, I feel it's a duty to point out that the "beignets" at
Disneyland share similarities only in the name of the dessert. "MickeyDonuts" would be a better (accurate) description. I don't say it to "complain" about Disneyland, but say it so people are aware that when they go to the real New Orleans, they'll enjoy the actual dessert and not some appropriated (very inaccurate) representation. As an aside, I find the beignets at Port Orleans are a decent attempt, and would love to see some Disney-Tiana's Place theming around that part of the Port Orleans cafe. I mean if you're going to Disney-fy the dessert, go all the way… "you're almost there!"
Likewise, living in New England has taught me what New Englanders expect from a proper chowdah or lobstah roll. If a restaurant is going to reference the locale, then in my opinion respect the regional cuisine by following it to the best of the chef's ability. Otherwise, it smacks of appropriating the region's name for profit without respect to the regional culture.
I have a feeling that anytime I would call out inappropriately prepared regional cuisine would be "complaining." So, it's unfortunate that it would offend some, but it also offends me to find my cultural-regional cuisine falsely advertised. It's all the more important to speak up about cultural cuisine "false advertising" if the restaurant guest (by virtue of only eating at Disney) won't have an opportunity to experience the actual texture/look/taste of that region. I would rather know from hometown reviewers how the actual cuisine differs, so I can have an educated palate when I'm eating a sorta-kinda good attempt by Disney at (insert city name) (insert famous food dish).
Best wishes to the OP. Hope there's some understanding that a critical review is not equivalent to dismissiveness.
