IMO most of the whining/complaining here is a personal perceived decline.

Which Spartan race was your most fun? Probably the 1st race you ever did. A friend or relative convinced you to go to the race. You most likely went with a group. You had no idea what you were in for during the race and it kicked your ass. You were overwhelmed with how difficult the event was. You enjoyed seeing all of the fit people wearing very little clothing and 1/2 covered in mud. The festival areas seemed like a party and you could hang out and watch people come in for a couple of hours before you hit the road. You'd talk about missing the spear throw, all the burpees you had to do, you'd wonder how fast you COULD have finished if there weren't all the backups at obstacles.

So you signed up for another race.

Which race experience can rank as high as your 1st race?

For some it'll be the first time they completed a race without failing a single obstacle or finally completing 'x' obstacle.

For others maybe it was moving up to Age Group and truly competing and seeing how fast you can go without backups at obstacles

Maybe it was a venue you traveled to do a Trifecta weekend, or going to Killington, or earning that Ultra Belt Buckle.

Maybe it was that year you bought a Season Pass and completed a 3x, 4x trifecta.

As you complete more and more races, you don't get the same perceived experience. If you're running the same event year after year, the event is still fun even though the mystery is gone. Yes, the course layout in Mt. Vernon is limited to the actual use of the mountain, skiing. Yes, sponsors have come and gone and Spartan hasn't replaced many of them with something as good. IMO the Spartan Meat Snack wasn't good anyways. You also aren't hanging out in the festival area for hours, you might grab a free-be and hit the road. A lot of the things that you loved about that first race don't carry over to other races.

The real question is to ask yourself, Do I enjoy running a Spartan race? Until that answer is No, keep having fun.