Adding to my own post, I see the change of MK's Splash as part of a broader issue of mismanagement and attitude towards the park that has been occurring over the last two decades, best exemplified by the lackluster nature of what should be a milestone anniversary.
Reopening Aunt Polly's is seen as a logistical/financial burden that's too difficult to overcome, but dropping a couple hundred million to change Splash is not given a second thought. It's like when they spent all that money to expand and redo Peter Pan's queue...but did nothing with the ride itself. Funds are allocated in truly haphazard ways where the execution is almost incidental because MK is not seen as a park with substantial design intent or history worth preserving. We get weird on ride photos for Pirates and Haunted Mansion, but other show effects in those same rides can be left broken because the rest is seen as good enough.
The park will probably never get a another night parade (donated or new build), show quality remains inconsistent, retail is viewed as the bare minimum, food service and quality have developed a notorious reputation and the park struggles on a daily basis to handle its crushing crowds. TRON will probably only make up for the lost capacity of Stitch closing without replacement.
I'm focusing this on MK, because this thread is for the WDW version specifically. I don't object to PatF being added to the park, but changing an already popular ride to make it happen feels so out of line with Magic Kingdom's needs, however well intentioned the reasoning behind it may be. The park is crying out for real, substantial improvements, but gets ignored time and again.
In a perfect world, this overlay would be part of an ongoing effort to make the park the best it can be. I don't agree with every change they've made in the last few years, but DLP's castle park has seen an amazing restoration of sorts that has truly improved the guest experience and I wish the same would happen in Florida. Instead, this bit of capital spending will likely be seen as the equivalent of a new ride and the rest of the park will remain in a kind autopilot for years while admission increases and guests struggle with convoluted operations just to ride it.
I think that what frustrates me overall.