Thanks for posting such a detailed trip report.
I've been to TDR twice, and probably would visit on at least an annual basis if only it were a bit closer.
Although TDL's earlier adaptations include some head-scratching failures to maximize the best of DL and WDW (BTM's use of WDW's template but without the Tumbleweed flood segment, the use of DL's much tamer version of Space Mountain instead of WDW's, the failure to build in a PeopleMover, etc.), the subsequent attractions that are unique to TDR have all been, by and large, home runs. Hunny Hunt remains probably the single most immersively satisfying dark ride in any Disney park -- at least until Mystic Manor and Ratatouille debut (assuming both live up to early expectations).
As you observed, whereas TDL has a few lapses here and there, TDS really exemplifies how everything was done just right, thanks in part to the willingness to expend bucketloads of cash.
My only problem with TDS was that the park is so well designed, so impeccably themed, that sometimes you feel the actual attractions don't -- or can't -- quite live up to their trappings. Take the Tower of Terror: I love its original backstory; how incredibly detailed the hotel grounds and lobby are; the fantastic preshow with the disappearing Shiriki Utundu; and the awesome load area, with piles and piles of Hightower's artifacts. But get on the elevator itself, and it's basically just the DCA ToT, with slightly different set-up scenes prior to the drop. After all that build-up, you almost expect something as truly special as, say, Forbidden Journey -- and it ends up being just a couple of drops in the dark.
Or JttCotE. Another mind-blowing queue (definitely not for those afraid of enclosed spaces!), set amid the most impressive "land" in any Disney park. Truly beautiful ride vehicles. Yet, other than the stunning Lava Monster, most of the other flora and fauna you see on the ride come off as under-detailed and run-of-the-mill -- and the big drop itself is far less exciting than the view from outside makes it seem to be. For all the build-up, you kind of expect Lava Monster-level AAs throughout the length of the entire ride, and a truly white-knuckle physical experience.
Or Raging Spirits -- which is just a prettied-up version of the not-very-exciting and not-very-comfortable Temple of Peril. I could go on, but you get my point.
As far as "problems" go, this is a good one to have. But, to me, it's still a slight mar on an otherwise flawless product -- when you go into an opulent mansion with exquisite grounds and priceless artwork, and then realize the chair you're sitting on is "only" an Ethan Allen piece, there's going to be some slight twinge of disappointment, or a tiny disruption of the suspension of disbelief.
I'm certainly not advocating that Disney deliberately "dumb down" their theming or design so that attraction experiences are fully commensurate with the level of quality of their preshows or show buildings or the park environment generally... I certainly appreciate TDR for what it has, and would be overjoyed if WDW could match it in terms of dedication to theming, cleanliness, and upkeep. And, not every ride can be a Hunny Hunt or a Forbidden Journey -- you've got to have some that, however much fun they may be, are just a hair short of the pinnacle of theme park design.
It's kind of a perverse outcome of the relativity of expectations -- when you have something that consistently provides A+ results, an A- result is going to be a relative disappointment. On the other hand, when you have something that consistently provides B- results, a B+ result is going to seem like occasion for celebration.
Unfortunately, these days WDW tends to follow the latter model more than the former one...