I read that article, too. My take is that it is isomorphic to the reaction of most Disneyphiles who visit some other theme park---everything has to "look like" a Disney park, otherwise it must suck. These folks would go to, say, Kennywood and pronounce it a disaster. Except maybe for Old Kennywood. That part would probably be "okay."
Heavily themed areas (as the article writer was looking for) is not the first distinguishing factor between a "good" park from a "bad" park for me. Customer service is---capacity, cleanliness, etc.