But do they prefer the “ride” or do the prefer the “music.”
Look at Mission: Breakout and Tower of Terror.When it was announced, there was a lot of “they’re going to ruin the ride.” But the “ride” didn’t change. The story did. Now, the argument against changing Orlando’s ToT is that it doesn’t need it because it has the better ride system. Suddenly, when the theme proves replaceable, the ride system becomes the focus.
Themes are all a matter of preference, which is fine. But that’s all they are. Themeless flumes are popular because it’s a fun ride system. The Splash ride layout, and the Dudley ride layout (since it was brought up), would be great rides without any theming. To look at theming as the only essence of a ride disregards the actual ride part.
The ride itself isn’t changing in a retheme.