Very few pay that much to spend a day at Magic Kingdom. Most buy multi day passes, which brings the price down. By the time you have ridden rides for several days straight it is nice to have something else to do for a little while. I have annual passes to WDW and USF. I very often try to find things other than the rides to do. I always enjoy playing the pins I find in the parks. I, for one, will miss them.

In my experience, one of the pins at the tomorrowland arcade was totally inop, one was pretty much unplayable, and the other two or three (depending on how many they had) were playable, but not perfect by any stretch. The pins in the hotels I visited tended to be in decent shape. The pins in Quest were generally beat to hell. Shrek at Universal is typically in decent/better shape, although it is so loud in there that you can't hear any of the call outs.

Perhaps I can help you understand. Not everyone's trip to Disney World/Disneyland is the same. For some it is a once in a lifetime trip or a very short visit to the parks and they wish to spend all their time enjoying the attractions unique to the Disney parks. For many, however, it is another day in the park, possibly to enjoy the sights, people watch, or just get out and enjoy the day, so they may not be interested in spending all of their time (or maybe any of their time) riding rides.

I personally went to Disney World many times last year where I only rode a couple of rides in a day, and even rode no rides some days. I have annual passes and often just go for the evening, to get dinner and walk in the gardens or visit an arcade etc. I am not "'that guy' who makes the wife and kids wait as [I] play pinball." My wife and girls (22 and 25) often play pinball with me. Other times, I play pinball when waiting on my girls to ride a ride for the umpteenth time that day, so I am waiting on them rather than the other way around.

One of the things that Disney tends to do best is provide a variety of entertainment so there is something for everyone. I believe the arcades in the parks are a nice part of the blend of entertainment. They clearly are not for everyone, particularly those wishing to optimize their time riding the rides. However, that does not mean that there are not a large number of us that do enjoy the arcades. I am disappointed that the Tomorrowland arcade will be closing. Does that mean I won't be spending any more time in Disney parks? No, I am going to Disneyland next weekend, I alrady have my airline tickets for Disney World trips in February and March, and airline tickets for Tokyo Disneyland in May. I will still enjoy the other forms of entertainment in the parks, but I will miss my pinball fix.