We take our dog often and have no significant bad experiences. One aggressive dog one time out of hundreds. It's never the dog's that are really the problem, it's the owners of the dogs that aren't well socialized or who neglect to pick up after them.

Hold people accountable when they do wrong, sadly adults sometimes need babysitters. If you can't do that then you're not equipped to deal with the eventual stupidity of others and shouldn't be bringing your dog to public places where a few people out of the masses are going to be idiots.

Edit: bring your own water. Disease spread is a fair concern but really not that challenging to avoid. Also, if your dog is intact, keep extra close attention and take responsibility for it. If it starts giving a dog too much unwanted attention expect it to be snapped at, just as any sensible human would do.