I've read through ....
OP has every right to come on here and post about HIS experience that was impacted by Disney decisions. I think he was prepared in that he listens to Pete's conversations, took the info he had from Disney as fairly reliable, he booked at Polynesian to if at worst he could walk to the park. He's been there on holidays and he expected large crowds.
What he also expected is that Disney properly staffed given they now control IN ADVANCE how many people will be in the park, he expected the technology would have been fine tuned to not crash, he expected Disney to uphold their selling "rules" to manage the merchandise chaos ... and he, along with many others, expected a 50th Anniversary/Birthday celebration given that was the point of the entire day.
Disney also failed on letting guests in 2 hours before they claimed they would. There is no reason for it. You slow the buses, you slow the boats, you don't open the monorail or the ferry boats until it's calculated to do a smooth entry to the parks. Not rocket science.
Yes, it was a perfect day for those just wanting to be there and wanting to do attractions. It was the perfect day for those committed to spend hours waiting for a generic firework show with no expectation it would be a celebration. It was perfect day for those who didn't want to shop, see any special shows or dedications and could snack through out the day in lieu of meals.
If you wanted to shop, wanted to dine more than a churro or pretzel, wanted a celebration that was woven throughout the park, wanted a fireworks show that was dedicated to the WHOLE POINT of celebrating the most visited theme park in the world ......... yes, Disney failed.
What I took away from all this is that Chapek & sons used the Magic Kingdom's 50th Birthday to create an insane supply and demand situation to sell as much product as possible right down to popcorn buckets - no surprise because Chapek's ONLY resume is retail and distribution. I mean there is like six different "collections" - great marketing to those who have to have it all. Their hope is this continues for months to come. In that he succeeded. They had no special parade (no more is it a safety issue, obvious by the way crowds are handled), there was no special firework projection show, there was no castle stage celebration but hey here is your slick advertisement photograph to take home. The firework show was a long advertisement for Disney Plus which while profitable is way below projected subscriptions and needs a boost.
The 25th we each got a large FREE beautiful lithograph with embossed seal. This year they are selling them for $150 each. AND being reported most opened them to bent edges - so if you buy, open in front of them to make sure it's good before you walk away.
Some people just wanted a fun day of saying they were there and it was great ............. but we shouldn't attack those who went hoping for a legit special day of celebrating the park, special moments, special shows with organization and good planning from Disney.