All businesses take hits in different ways. The Company I work for is being hit by low oil prices right now, and due to the recession, the other part of the business is not quite balancing the books yet. As a result people do have to be made redundant even though we don't have shareholders, which is really sad.
With Disney, at present, they have got to balance the parks expenditure across the world. With TWDC taking on the Paris debts, and a overspend in Shanghai, the operating costs have to be reduced elsewhere. It's basic business, that is compounded by the shareholders wanting dividends. It's not what people want to hear that experiences are being cut, but the analyst in me completely understands the potential reasoning.
I think we'll be a few years off seeing a big boom with the parks. Shanghai will not see a ROI for years due to the overspend. And Paris/HK need to start being profitable in a bigger way. Once they are, the margins of the US parks can be reduced to improve customer satisfaction. It's no surprise that there are add on elements for the fanatics at every night show. ROL seems to be having a Fantasmic style meal package being developed from what Disney Food Blog is saying.