I'll bite on this thread.
Growing up there were three loves in my love. Disney, animation, and Muppets. I devoured everything I could find about them. Read every book, watched every documentary, and saw every movie.
I'm still a fan of Disney, to a degree. There is a wonderful nostalgia that goes along with it, and when I see golden classics like Bambi or Sleeping Beauty, I recall many of the behind the scenes stories and tidbits that make me appreciate it all the more.
The few times I've been to the parks I was more enthralled with hidden mickeys and useless trivia then the rides themselves. While everyone is clammering to shake Mickey's Hand on Main Street, I'm busy looking at window displays and taking pictures of the second story windows with the names of behind the scenes folks.
I own every ORIGINAL Disney animated film released to video. But that is where my disgust begins.
Yes Disney has created some amazing things in years gone by, but the scale of quality product is tipping more and more toward crap. Examples:
1.) Capitalizing on Direct to Video Features. Yes this is lucrative for a buisness as home video sales and now DVDs for children is a multi billion dollar business every year. But does Disney need to spit out crap based on classics of American Cinema? If a story is told right, there is no need to go back and revisit them. (exceptions are few an far between, but as a rule of thumb this is true) Cinderella is supposed to live happily ever after. Not re-unite with the mice for further adventures. The animated sequals not only look cheap, but they cheapen the original, and will have no place in my home. PERIOD.
2.) Slap the label on it, and it'll sell. Disney is ruining their brand name, but slapping the Disney label on stuff and making people think it'll be a quality product. This mainly applies towards movies. Look at things like the live action remakes of classics like That Darn Cat or now the upcoming Freaky Friday. Or better yet, things like The Country Bears where they take a beloved part of the park, and turn it into celluloid fodder for tweens.
3.) Removing the charm from the parks. Now I haven't been to a park in ten years, but I gotta tell you, its looking to me like more and more of the charm that made the parks what they are is being replaced with either crappy cheap thrill rides, or a 'hot for the moment' property (which actually started with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles showing up at MGM and has now turned into things like Toon Disney parades). Disneyland closed down the Bear Country Jamboree. Walt Disney World got rid of Mr. Toad's Wild ride. These are amazing attractions. There's still talk all the time of getting rid of Mr. Lincon too. Does nobody realize the significance that one little audio animatronic statue has? Yeah its nothing compared with some of the things possible today, but that started it all.
Those are just some of the problems I have with Disney right now. Could it change? Possibly. If the powers that be are willing to take more risks in creativity and art like Lilo and Stitch. It breaks my heart though to realize that Lilo may be the last traditional animation (i.e. non CGI) film that we will every see from the House of Mouse.
You hear that whirring sound? It's Walt spinning in his grave!