I'd say their opinions are honest. And I think it's a mixture of their love for Disney AND their own self promotion.
The team seems to have huge nostalgia for how Disney used to operate and want todays guests to experience the same magic. On top of that it's in the interests of Dreams Unlimited for them to call out Disney when they see standards slipping, their business relies on people going to Disney and if those falling standards could deter people from going to the parks then it will cost Dreams Unlimited future clients.
@Daniel MacQueen Totally agree, and very nicely put. You so eloquently and succinctly stated what I was puzzling how to put together to make sense to anybody outside of myself for the longest. Thank you!
This is also how I feel - it's not that I'm bashing WDW, or how it is today. Nor do I think the Team Members are. I'd like to think "we" think somewhat alike, in that respect. It's just that I've experienced and fallen in love with it when it was so much better, and I truly want everyone else to experience and love it that way too. Probably corny, and impossible - but - I still deeply WANT that! Especially for those I love and care about, and every child I see going into their Happy Place and Land of Drams. Every family going for their first time, and some people going for their last. Even those going for their ONLY.
I thought my visit in Feb. of '93 was going to be "one and done" for me, and the magic captured me, so I want that sense of wonder, nostalgia, magic, and being in another World to be there for others, as it was for me. It definitely changed and shaped my entire life since that visit - I wouldn't even be HERE if that visit hadn't happened!! And I can't tell you the people I've met, memories I've been lucky enough to have had, things I've done, unforgettable experiences I've shared, even getting engaged in the Magic Kingdom (thought my Prince had Come, and couldn't imagine the proposal taking place anywhere else. I'd also turned him onto the magic of Disney!) , then getting over a totally smashed heart there, and at the other parks during countless hours of self reflection. Done a LOT of that, about a LOT of things in my life, over the years. Had some of my highest highs, lowest lows, calmest and happiest calms, most joyful shared moments, and most thoughtful and introspective times, all in WDW.
Never been married - but - maybe this is like how people still have love for each other, but grow apart after so many years? Things are "fine", but there is an empty hole left in their hearts, minds, souls, and memories, remembering when things were "better"?
Sorry - I know this whole post was totally sappy, corny, emotional, etc. But - for me - that is what Disney WAS, IS, and SHOULD be.
Thanx for listening.