I'm am not "jaded" towards Universal, in fact, it's just the opposite. I like their parks and I would like to see them produce amazing attractions! Did you read my review of Hagrid's? It doesn't appear that you did because it is not negative at all, in fact, it is quite a positive review. Here, I'll link you to it so you can read it:
Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread
I said my **ONE** major criticism of the ride (which I'm allowed to have, you know?) is that it was not themed as much as I thought it would be. I never painted a picture of "no theming." In fact the only person in this conversation that has said that is you.
My expectation of theming was set pretty high, though, to be honest. After hearing the attraction being called a "Story Coaster" and having been on many other outdoor themed rides: Taron, Radiator Springs Racer, Big Grizzly Mountain, just to name a few, and knowing that they will have some pretty stiff competition in the "motorbike coaster" category soon with Tron opening, I'll be honest, I was expecting Universal to knock this one out of the park.
The ride looks great. The themed elements that are there are a nice touch. But my opinion still stands that it is the one area that was lacking the most. I legit expected more of a "show scene" in certain areas, and what we got were some figures scattered throughout the track area that you don't see for very long, and when you did get to an indoor show scene, it wasn't that much of an improvement over Verbolten, Thirteen, or Darkmare, which also have similar drop-track indoor themed sections.
With as much as they hyped up the theming, the "story coaster" and the animatronics, I expected more in that department.
In my review I also put the disclaimer that my comments come from a more experienced roller coaster rider and I do have to remember that the majority of the people who have ridden the coaster today or at the media event have probably never been on a coaster with a drop-track feature. I have been on six over the past 14 years. Many of those people probably have not been able to experience the amazing theming on Taron or have ridden other "story" based thrill attractions like Big Grizzly Mountain, Radiator Springs Racers, or Journey to the Center of the Earth. I've also been on several different "motorbike" coasters including the only other coaster in the world that features a bike and a side car as well as having ridden Tron at Shanghai Disneyland. So my basis of comparison is going to be much broader and so is my level of expectations.
Honestly, I expected this ride, theming wise, to blow all those I mentioned out of the water. And the end result was that it was "good enough."