I would agree about the long grinding events becoming overwhelming in succession, but they need to keep players involved after a week or so of downtime. The good thing is that the event is so long that you can take some time off and still be able to return on schedule. That is, for us older players that have last year's stuff, but I suppose we've already done our long grind last year.
As for the quality of the content, I disagree. The mechanics are similar to previous and thus familiar to players, many interesting characters (even though I know none of them), a fun fighting minigame with rpg classes, and great content.
My Springfield is quite urban and dense, so I need buildings rather than low-density RCI zones (I am recovering simcity addict, four years sober).
The back alley landing zone is a tad bit oversized, but it visually is perfect for my city. I immediately bought that Publishings building, and I look forward to the upcoming Zenith City condo and office towers.
I'm not sure how the Aqua World works though, but it might look great in my industrial port area, we need a good harbor anyway. Possibly in another event.