I'm so sorry about your honeymoon! Hopefully you were still able to enjoy it!
Most of my travel is actually non-disney. I'm not in a place financially to travel to Hawaii or internationally, but if I was it wouldn't be to disney, with the exception of the Japanese parks, which look incredible, but are technically not designed by Disney.
What I like about what I've seen/experienced is the history, the idea behind the properties, and the level of detail/ingenuity for the time things were created. I do enjoy the dark rides-
disneyland was a delight! As a child I was inspired by the films to read the stories behind them, and was enamored by the music and animation. I feel like there is a shadow of that spirit still, even in the corporate trappings. We stayed on property last year for the first time and really enjoyed the convenience of not driving, riding boats to Disney Springs, and enjoying the non-park entertainment options. I will also say, they mix their drinks strong, which doesn't hurt. I have a pretty intense job, so it's a nice escape from the kind of trip I would normally take-focused on seeing a lot in a short time on a small budget. Disney doesn't have museums or parks or architectural must-visits, or even a ton of dining that I am excited about, so it enables me to relax in a way I usually don't. Character meals and fancy ADRs hold no allure, so when you strike that away, it's a pretty relaxing place if you can avoid rude crowds. I don't have huge must-visit lists that I have to pare down, which is usually the case everywhere else I go. It sounds weird, but somehow it works? Doing "just enough" is easier, but I don't get bored or feel limited either.
Compared to planning for other things, it's much simpler for me. I am not a "stay at a resort" person- we mostly airbnb & try to experience places like locals. Disney is stupid complicated for what it is, but it does have mostly known/controlled variables and is
fairly predictable once you learn it, so it seems. As you mention, distance planning through online reviews can be a challenge for many places. Disney has such a following and a consumer base that it lessens the risk of unknowns. Safety is also a perk, and the company tends to be supportive of ADA related needs, which I appreciate.
I can't say the hotels or grounds are much nicer than elsewhere-they're not- but the thought put into things often is. As in, a lot is old and in disrepair, but you can tell the design was very intentional, and I appreciate that. I'm also a sucker for cute things, and there is much cute. I'm hoping to visit the parks during some events- holidays, festivals, etc. to get a better experience of what the properties might offer. In short, I view it as a unique experience, offering things I could not get condensed like that anywhere else. The happy ducks and the flowers, the smells, the sense of being somewhere else than where you really are (a swamp in Florida)-that's impressive. I don't know if we'll return repeatedly, but for this time and place it's a needed distraction from reality. Right now the national parks I want to visit are under threat, the countries I want to visit are dealing with trauma and uncertainty, and upon returning I don't know what I would face. So even if I had the money & leisure time for international travel I might still choose Disney in this moment. I hope that changes, and in the meantime I am trying to explore what I can of America and have fun. Disney, aside from some poor customer service, organization, and disrespectful/ignorant people, is fun. Or at least so absurd in its tangled complexity that I am allowing myself to become engrossed in it for the moment.