Yes, I suppose that if you feel that "Rubes" are totally without the power of observations, that could be true. However, any business would aim for the spot that was less costly and more profitable. Disney quality is close to being matched but only in rare cases. Universal gets it, and has invested money (lots of money) in bringing their standards up to what, at least, was Disney quality. But they are an exception. One might point to places like Tokyo and say that their quality is better than WDW and it very well might be true, however, it's located on the other side of the world and it's goal was to keep the Asian contingency there and stop them from needing to circumvent the globe to get that fix.
I just last night, returned from a quick trip to Dollywood. Two thing about the place were vastly superior to WDW. The Christmas lighting made Disney's look like it was designed and displayed by a group of ten year olds doing a school project. It was nothing short of spectacular. The train ride was soooo much better then Disneys in the sense that it was far more realistic, even to the point of warning riders that there was a possibility that they could get cinders in their eyes from the full sized, real steam engine and it was longer. Yet if you look past the lights you see a disorganized, dirty, cinder block and wooden patchwork reminiscent of road side carnivals.
One can go on and on about Disney quality and maintenance forever but all it takes is the ability to see and remember properly what Disney looked like years ago and know that what we see now is far superior to then. Yes, there are "maybe" more ride breakdowns then back when they were new and as far as cleanliness, even the messes made by those infamous rube tourists are minor and usually taken care of within a reasonable time frame.
Primarily I agree with you that pressure must be kept up to be sure that quality is maintained because it's possible that TDO or whatever management might visit a place like Dollywood and come back thinking that they have the Palace of Versailles here, and in a way they do. However, I find it incredibly snobbish to refer to people that may be of a less stellar background and less exposure to nice things, rubes. They are hard working people that have come to Disney for some fun and relaxation. They didn't come there to inspect the place from top to bottom. Fortunately, for Disney, that is the majority of their guests and for them they deliver what was promised. Since we all know that money is power, if they spend more then all you, get it together Disney or I'm going to whine until you do non-rubes, they won't care a tinkers damn about what think. The rubes spend lot's of money and Disney doesn't have to listen to constant dribble about how it was so much nicer back in the day. It wasn't! I know, I was there more than once in the old days. I saw it through adult eyes, not those of kids that will magnify every fun experience way beyond reality. They may have offered more "extras" then before but the numbers of guest were smaller and the ability to offer extras was a lot easier with smaller numbers.
Yes, they will run out of rubes eventually, but rubes tend to create little rubes in their spare time, so it won't be anytime soon, I'm thinking.
