I'm what you might call a Pre-Disney purist. It sounds so overtly silly to describe myself as that but I feel like I can't formulate any other words for it. I was, and still am a massive fan of the Expanded Universe, and have felt alienated by how Disney has handled the franchise. I am fully aware that the Expanded Universe has some pretty big problems and weirdness to it, especially before 1999. The Thrawn Trilogy seriously set a standard for the Expanded Universe, and retcons helped alleviate some of the dumbness of earlier stories. I still love these stories more than the films themselves, and I was really disappointed that they didn't adapt these stories at all.
I don't understand their decision making process, however the explanation of 'Because they want more money' is always a valid one, no matter what you think about Disney. I understand that they wanted to wipe the canon to allow their filmmakers more creativity over the series in their films. But they almost immediately went to fill the gaps they created with subpar stories that are Star Wars in name only, changing things so arbitrarily and filling the gaps. I wouldn't mind if Disney's new canon was film alone, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I can't get attached to films that are attached to so much dribble that they want me to learn again. For that reason I don't read into or watch anything Disney made, because I don't want to have two conflicting stories in my head, especially when I am very emotionally attached to one version of it.
The biggest problem I have is that they are adapting elements of the Legends canon but twisting it in ways that make no sense. Kylo Ren is based off a very prominent character in the EU, but he is so immensely changed when I feel like his original version would've been a more interesting, deeper, and intriguing character. Talking with a friend the other day, I managed to take the story of the Legacy of the Force books, which have a very similar plot to TFA, and adapt it into a film form that follows the same flow as Episode 7. You're welcome to read it here, but beware, there are spoilers in it.
http://pastebin.com/wLQNEQhR
Certainly there are a lot of things already set in the story for this film, but there was the same for A New Hope too, a lot of stories we hadn't heard about. I took a lot of liberties with the story but kept it as true as I could, trying to play Devil's advocate as someone who might be trying to make the story fresh but still stay true to it. I got inspired to write that adaptation after I heard that in early stages of The Force Awakens, Rey was originally Jaina, and Finn was originally Jacen, the two twins of Han and Leia. I am baffled, personally, why they were changed. You could say it was changed to prevent confusion, but then I just have to point at Kylo Ren.
I've been pretty passionate about the subject. I would like to think there's more Pre-Disney fans out there that agree with me, but thus far it's been few and far between. There's a lot of unbridled love for The Force Awakens, but there was an insane amount of support and love for The Phantom Menace when it came out too. So I am unsure what to think.