Why would they love having to convince people why Star Tours is better than Simpsons? Or Muppets is better than Shrek? 'Better' is subjective and can be hard to explain or convince. That means slow, expensive, inefficient, and often ineffective. Differentiation creates clear and easy to see gaps. The same way Disney doesn't really compete with regional parks on the same field.. NextGen is to try to create that kind of separation between Disney and competitors in what the theme park experience encompasses.
Moves like this are about the LONG HAUL - not about how good FJ is or not.
Yes, but as has been said, that separation is mostly in statistics and data mining. Disney has always been doing it, but now they are taking it one step further. The entire "NextGen" initiative is around that core idea; things like talking characters saying your name or Fast Pass + are ancillary little projects compared to the true reason they are spending a billion bucks on this.
To expand on what RSoxNo1 was saying, we aren't talking "Star Tours" vs. "Simpsons" (though, like RSox, I'd pick Star tours myself). It's more like WWOHP against ANYTHING Disney has done in a decade or two. The closest is Everest - and we all know what a sad story that is (and getting sadder).
Basically, it boils down to this : what is going to impress people more? If they had spent one billion dollars on four new amazing E-ticket attractions, one for each park - or FastPass +, especially when that and the characters-knowing-your-name thing (which, has it actually happened? I know it was a concept, but did it ever come to fruition?) can be done by other means (ET has been saying names at Universal for 20 years), especially since so much of it seems it will only be for those who stay on property, unlike new attractions which anyone could experience.
As to the long haul, well, we all lived through the 00's - where Spiderman was crowned the best theme park ride in the world by many sources, and Disney had almost a decade to top it before Universal topped themselves with WWOHP. And Disney gave us SGE, Laff Floor, and Disco Yeti.
I think the reason many of us feel the way we do was because when we were growing up Disney was unquestionably King, the only theme parks that had amazing, immersive experiences. They didn't only do it better than anyone else, they were the only ones doing it, really. And now, not only is Disney not doing it (though Mermaid is a step back in the right direction), but they are letting someone else do it much, much better.
This isn't new, it's been how it has been for the last dozen years or so, and unfortunately, as much as I anticipate New Fantasyland, I just don't see it changing any time soon. They haven't even built an E-ticket since Disco Yeti, nor are any on the immediate horizon. Instead, they are more likely trying to find another lame, cheap show to tie in to they can replace American Idol with, or how they can cut costs by homogenizing napkins and paper cups. The only thing they are spending really big money on is a new way to track you, your purchases, and behavior, so they can find ways to entice you to buy more Duffy the Bear dolls.
