I did not read every comment but just have to give my 2 cents. This is a subject that really annoys me.
The popularity of characters has increased year after year to a point where special events sell out left and right because guests can meet rare characters or characters in rare costumes (7 Dwarfs, Villains, Captain Jack, Princes etc.) and people will wait an hour + in line to see new characters that were not available previouly (Merida, A&E, etc). AND this isn't just little ones either. Guests of ALL ages love getting pics w/ characters. It's the hunt, seeing how many you can find, because of a favorite movie, or just because of the love of all things Disney.
But, it's seem like WDW continues to remove more and more M&G's or characters just to save a buck. They are doing what is best for the bottom line and not what is best based on what the guest wants.
Taking away Tinkerbell's friends is not right IMO. The appeal was Tink and one or more of her friends, and you never knew who was going to be with her making it fun for all. Did WDW even do the Pirate fairy from the latest movie?
There is a lot of wasted space (Streets of America in DHS) and stale characters (fab 5 and core princesses have been over done IMO) that could use some fresh faces or at least new costumes. If there are no new attractions coming, I don't think many would complain if WD filled up some unued space with some new M&Gs or changed things around with some rare characters.
There are alot of guests the would maybe make an extra trip to a park or spend more time in a park, if they had the opportunity to see some rare characters!