Except for when uncle sam was paying for Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros, Jose reprises his role in the latter film. It is a spiritual sequel if not a literal one. Yes Walt wanted to do new things, but he also wanted to make money to reinvest in future endevors. His wife was only going to let them mortgage the house so many times after all... anyways....
they must have millions of AAs left from the old ride
I have, many times, and I can agree that it in no way is "finished".
Heck Jose was in three films...and cartoons afterwards! Not to mention that the second star to the right is in at least three Disney films, so yes there are some in-universe connections.
Don't get me wrong, the stuff they added is great......well, mostly great. What's bad about it is that it makes old FL stick out like a sore thumb. It's an inconsistent thematic mess. When you set up to get a job done, finish the job entirely, like they did with the '83 expansion at DL.
Who said anything about shrinking the castle? I'm talking about Peter Pan, Small World, Philharmagic, and Fairytale Hall. When you have beautiful facades designed for the films the attractions are based on, the 70's style medieval tents stick out like a sore thumb. At least with Pooh, they tried to somewhat fix this, but this creates even more inconsistency.
I think that you are thinking of the carousel and the shops that are actually attached to the castle, which should stay the same. Maybe even keep Philharmagic and Fairy Tale Hall the same because they are closer to the castle. However, there is absolutely no reason Peter Pan and Small world's facades should be in a 70s medieval fair style. There about as far from the castle as Mine Train, and that doesn't have a fair theme.
Keep in mind that Figment received his own MARVEL comic series, which not only had one volume but two (or two "sets" of volumes depending on how you look at it). The reference probably means nothing, but don't anybody write it off as a silly little Easter egg just yet!As a huge fan of Marvel and Disney, I think this is pretty cool. It's a fun little Easter egg that most guests will walk by and say "oh, it's a dragon" while those who know Figment will recognize him. It's a nod to the fans. I don't see how it's any different than the Pizza Planet truck in almost every Pixar movie. There's even a Figment cameo in Inside Out. Heh, I wonder if the Collector has Dreamfinder in his collection, too?
Keep in mind that Figment received his own MARVEL comic series, which not only had one volume but two (or two "sets" of volumes depending on how you look at it). The reference probably means nothing, but don't anybody write it off as a silly little Easter egg just yet!
I thought about how Marvel had made a Figment comic series (I own all of them!) and was thinking about how there might be a connection there...JII in Marvel Universe confirmed? anything with the Marvel logo pretty much prints money, so a JII ride with a Marvel sticker on it, as cash-grabby as it may seem, could be a good idea. Of course, it's likely just a pipe dream, so...
Figment and the rest of the Disney Kingdoms books are their own little universe separate from the rest of Marvel with bits of interconnectivity here and there ranging from the Museum of the Weird that started the line showing up in a painting in the Haunted Mansion to a mystery girl in the Tiki Room book essentially revealing herself as a descendant of Thunder Mountain's Barnabas T. Bullion. Doesn't reeaaally count as the "Marvel Universe". Plus, it's not like Disney's making rides out of comics, just the MCU.
The idea of Figment being in the MCU is cool to think about, at least. 
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How so? I thought it had been well-received.
