I don't disagree with you one bit, but I think you missed the point of what I originally said. He was the Creative force behind animal kingdom. I personally do not fault Rhode (or any other imagineer for that matter) for the budget cuts that management decides to hand them.
It's not the budget cuts themselves that I blame on him, it's how it was dealt with and with what was left he spent it on superfluous things and not the actual rides and attractions.
Everest is the perfect example. They spent so much time, effort, and money on the queue they forgot about the ride. Even when it works - it's not really that impressive.
I don't hate the guy, simply get annoyed when people talk about him like he's God's gift to Disneyfans, when the guy hasn't really done the best work as far as I can see. People like him because he's eccentric and such, but he certainly hasn't contributed positively to my WDW experience very much.
You just sort of proved WDW1974's point. You start off saying you want more attraction, then get into specifics about the types of rides they need to add. A ride is a type of attraction, not all attractions are rides.
True. However, if you poll 100 random people in the United States, and ask them what the #1 reason to go to Disney is, the vast majority of them would mention rides. What Disney is known for.
AK is sorely lacking in that area. Some people play it off like "oh, you must be ignorant, you just don't get it", but they are usually board flamers or trolls. I *GET* AK, it's just that I have far better animal experiences much closer to home, so why would I travel across the country to get a sub-par animal experience, and a sub-par theme park experience at the same time?
It just makes no sense. Someone put it best earlier - if I bought a 1-day ticket to that park I'd feel majorly ripped off. It doesn't have enough animal interaction to make it a real animal experience, and not enough theme park to be a real theme park experience. You end up with a half-baked hybird of both.
It's great some people love it. Wonderful in fact, I'm glad it's not all gone to total waste. But the majority of the public comes to Disney for fun, and excitement, and rides, and experiences they cannot get at home. AK doesn't really provide that.
The Safari is pretty laughable after the first few hours of the day when the animals hide out, "If you look past that giant rock over there, you'll see the ear of a tiger peeking up!" And the little "hands on" exhibits are done much better (and in full A/C) in many other places on both coasts (Bronx Zoo, San Diego Zoo, etc).
The flagship ride (Everest) is broken, and has been for the better part of half a decade; Dinosaur, the only real dark ride there is amazing but the lack of upkeep is pretty disappointing, and the two carnie rides next to it I try to not even walk past, let alone ride. Kali is OK, but no where near, say, Grizzly River Run over at DCA.
If I was looking to play with or see animals, I'd go to a zoo. Like the vast majority of the American public, I go to WDW for rides and attractions I can't get elsewhere. On that criteria, AK fails miserably, and it's quite clear why it's the least visited of the parks.
I get you, because in many of the same ways I am weird as well, but you are weird. 
