IMO the update was a good thing for that pavilion. For a while it looked like it was marching down the very same road that the Wonders of Life was on - irrelevancy leading to closure.
When an E-ticket like Soarin' was decided to be brought in to revitalize the pavilion, it's only natural that the pavilion would undergo a rather complete facelift with many guests entering the pavilion for Soarin' that otherwise wouldn't give 'The Land' the time of day. And to WDW of this decade, that means a facelift in the money-milking spirit of your local mall food court. Every sight line planned and every directional obstacle strategically placed to entice guests to spend more time & money than they may have intentionally planned on spending. Ever wonder why the only way to Soarin' from the entrance is a stairway that points you in the direction of a big food service establishment? Yup...
But even so, I figure it's better that than a complete demolition of the pavilion as was the fate of Horizons & World of Motion. At least 'The Land' still has something of its former identity left intact.
-- PMM
