I can't tell you that your perception of how people (and I, because I tend to freely voice my angst when things I enjoy are fiddled with or removed) are reacting to various projects is wrong, because I'm sure this is what you're seeing in good faith... but I truly do not think it is actually the case at all. There have been countless smaller projects where the general reaction is indifference, "wait and see," or outright optimism. But those are generally not the MAJOR projects where classics are getting touched/removed (Muppet*Vision, Carousel) or important/legendary areas wiped away (Rivers of America); of course, those are on a scale of importance that is going to generate a louder reaction than a refurb of Buzz Lightyear or Test Track (where nobody was particularly disturbed about what changes might be made, and most were positively anticipatory). Those are just two recent examples that are in a similar-ish category as Carousel's refresh.
If a person doesn't like what they do with COP, or how the new Cars area ultimately impacts Frontierland and the general "feel" of that part of the park... they're supposed to never go on Haunted Mansion or Pirates again? No more Big Thunder or Space Mountain?
I think there has to be room for more nuance than that. Ambivalence about one thing doesn't mean an absence of joy for something else.
I appreciate you saying I'm approaching it in good faith, but I have to push back vehemently on the idea that this isn't happening.
Part of the nature of what I do is that I'm chronically online. Between the forums and 300,000+ followers across our social channels, I spend a lot of time reading reactions to these announcements. With Universal, I see this pattern constantly. With Disney, since we're not Inside Disney, it's not quite as much, but it was impossible to miss today (not to mention Bluey the other day).
When I see people describing a refresh of COP as Disney "raping" the attraction before they've experienced a single second of it, I'm not going to pretend that's a "wait & see" reaction.
Then I came over here and saw versions of the same arguments, albeit much more measured and nuanced. A lot of my frustration comes from social media, more so than here.
So while you may disagree on how common it is, I have a hard time accepting that it isn't happening. I see it way too often for that.
To your other argument, my point is more about patterns.
If someone dislikes one project, that's an opinion. If someone dislikes 5 projects, sure, that's still an opinion. But if every major announcement, change, and new direction is met with the same negativity or doubt - where liking something new becomes the exception rather than the norm - I think it's fair to ask whether the issue is the person or the company's overall direction.
Many of these discussions start from the premise that the change itself is a problem. A change can be good, bad, or somewhere in between. But I don't think the mere fact that Disney touched something old is evidence that they've made a mistake. I HATE that Universal touched Jaws, but the Resort is better for it.
Walt was famously against the idea of Disneyland becoming a museum. Yet every time Disney touches something old, one of the first arguments is that they should preserve it because it's always been there. I understand the emotional attachment, but those two ideas don't really align.
Test Track is a poor comparison because a large portion of the fanbase felt it needed improvement. People are naturally more optimistic when something perceived as flawed is being changed.
The real test is what happens when Disney touches something people already love. That's where the loudest pushback almost always appears. That doesn't make the criticism wrong, but it does suggest that attachment to the current version is influencing the reaction as much as the specifics of the project itself.
I stand by the fact that I genuinely think we'd still be having many of the same conversations even if different years were chosen, because the pushback is more about the changing COP period.
Again, I'd just like to see a little more "let's see how this turns out".
And to use the restaurant analogy again: You're absolutely allowed to keep going because you love a few dishes. But if you consistently dislike most of the menu changes, specials, etc, eventually it's reasonable to ask whether the restaurant is actually the problem or whether you're expecting it to be something it no longer is.