I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that one weekend worth of rentals from WDW (in spaces that might have been rented by an outside organization if not by D23) really can be connected to the "flood of upcharge events to pay for Magic Bands."
You can parse words if you like, but the fact remains that this event and its pricing are not a result of the cost of Magic Bands.
I certainly don't think D23 is a perfectly-run organization (far from it), but when they put on ambitious events for a small number of attendees, the costs aren't going to be cheap. Especially when they have to deal with other arms of the company that may not exactly be cooperative with them.
The people I know in D23 are genuinely passionate fans of the parks and put tons of effort into these events because of said passion. They certainly are not stuffed suits somehow using the events to mock fans.