Agreed about Mermaid.
At the risk of going even more off- topic than Patriotic Potties, let me mention my family's experience with Mermaid this summer. Myself, wife, daughter, granddaughters 8 and 6 (right in the supposed sweet spot for this ride), got off the big, new, hyped ride and all had the same reaction "meh ". Too plastic.
Shortly thereafter we rode Peter Pan, only because I insisted we get FP for it. Despite many Disney trips, both WDW and DL, daughter and her kids had never ridden it before (probably due to the lines, and didn't want to "waste" FP on it) and didn't know what to expect and my wife had forgotten what it was like. They couldn't stop raving about it afterwards. I think it is very telling that a relatively simple ride that's nearly 60 years old could have much more impact than a modern expensive effort. The original imagineers were clearly masters at their art, and instinctively knew how to bring charm and heart to their work with far fewer resources.
To be fair to modern imagineers, we all did find Enchanted Tales with Belle charming and enjoyed it, although in my case it might mostly be due to the particular Belle we got (if you know what I mean, wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
