I'm not taking the time to find it, but I saw a side by side POV somewhere where LR was running at nearly the exact same speed pre-launch. But, I'd be willing to trust the word of a guy who pretty much rides roller coasters for a living over someone watching YouTube.
I'm all for the consumer over the corporation, but damn. I'm sure you'll get a few ten-year-olds boasting about how the ride "sucks" now, despite riding it... Even with the outliers, in a couple years no one will care anymore. A large portion of guests will never know it had a launch. I bet they will love it over a "ride's closed" sign.
RMC and DW rolled the dice on LR and they lost. Better choices could have been made, maybe. Regardless, I'll just be happy to know if I ever go back to DW again I will actually be able to ride LR.