I think that there can be good attractions full of AAs and physical sets AND good screen-based attractions. I enjoy work made by both WED and many of the newer WDI attractions and think both are capable of great work.
While your feelings are valid (as are the feelings of many others who prefer classic Pirates), I can't help but wonder how many people have actually DONE the Shanghai Pirates ride in person vs. judging it from screens. I maintain that actually experiencing an attraction makes a tremendous difference in judging its value. And because not many people here have actually been on the newer ride, and people can have all sorts of opinions on some combination of the resort being so different, the country it's located in, and/or the current capabilities (or lack thereof, as the case may be) of modern imagineering, I feel like the resort in general and Pirates specifically, as that park's obvious showcase, get hit with a lot of nitpicks (not saying you specifically are one of the people doing that). I know for myself that a lot of the criticisms I had read about the place melted away when I was actually there, and I suspect the same would be true for many people were they to experience the ride in person.
That could well be me reading into people's responses and forming my own judgments accordingly, but I do feel that there's a lot of apprehension in general whenever anything Shanghai is brought up from many people, and that inevitably colors discussion of everything there for them, including discussion of its signature ride. YMMV.
