It's most certainly a joke. I'm pretty sure we got a detailed explanation of how and why Fast ended up the way it did via reliable insiders. A combination of corporate demands, budgets, and Universal Creative opting not to "plus" something that was already known internally to be dreadful. The "lipstick on the pig" went into the queue instead of spending lots of money to only slightly improve an impending dud.
That said, there are still all kinds of tiny adjustments they can make to this that would make it less embarrassing and it's been outlined before. Drop one of the two pre-shows entirely, adjust the timing in the alley sequence and keep us there a bit longer, trim the musion scene, add 3D back to the tunnel sequence as was originally intended, increase the intensity of the motion base, and make unload feel more like an ending party scene.