Hard to put this in perspective without any kind of metric but the anecdotal reports of lower attendance, higher prices, layoffs, and cutbacks all around definitely seem like a harbinger of something, like a canary in the coal mine for an economic downturn. Attendance has been increasing steadily since 2011- there's always a bit of cognitive dissonance when things start to turn south after being up for so long.
There is a lot to criticize about WDW these days but I think what folks are missing is that there is now so much underway as far as construction goes. In my 15 years in the fan community I have never seen anything like this. If you were on Disney forums back in the mid and late 2000s there was really a feeling of bleakness and the start of the backlash against fans who were starting to wake up and realize that the parks just weren't the same anymore.
There was a solid six year period between Everest ('06) and Fantasyland Expansion ('12-13) where the only new ride that opened up was Toy Story Mania. Five years later Avatar was added, and now we're getting to a point where a dozen new rides or significant enhancements will be opening up one right after the other. Even things like the long-deactivated geysers at Thunder Mountain were refurbished inexplicably. And in the midst of those additions, there were slews of cutbacks- periods of mass layoffs, entertainment, ride maintenance, Lights of Winter, Osborne lights, etc. Disney was rolling out these annual marketing promotions where there was almost nothing to promote besides a re-skinned ride or new DVC. It was a tough time to be a fan of the parks then because it was so clear they were just riding out the goodwill of being a nice place to visit, that's why there were so many hollowed out, feckless promotions about dreams and memories.
Nowadays there is more coming to the parks than ever before in recent memory. It's hard to be a park fan for different reasons. But 2019 to me was the calm before the storm as far as changes go.
