The old rules were pretty similar, actually - they were general enough to be open to interpretation. Other than the occasional cantankerous ornery cast member having a bad day and being unreasonable, as may occasionally happen at a resort property for example, I think it's still going to be down to how the person behaves in the parks, how much attention they call to themselves, and how they respond to inquiries - the rules will be more lax as they usually are if a person is being courteous and conscious of others, and not being sarcastic or stubborn when questioned...and the rules translated more strictly for the troublemakers. This seems to be how Disney has always applied or enforced the rules, so I can't foresee any great changes.
My guess is that 'large' tripods might most likely mean those that cannot be compacted down to a short handheld size, say 23" or less...they really were never happy with those even if there wasn't a specific rule for them. I feel most compacting tripods will still be accepted in the parks, and you won't run into any trouble unless you're setting up the tripod in the middle of the traffic flow or blocking off part of a line, doorway, or access. Time will tell if that's correct, but I don't expect problems. Those with huge carbon fiber pro tripods that stand 3 feet even compacted with huge wimberley heads that have a footprint 5 or 6 feet around might want to pick up a lighter, more compact pod for Disney...those are the ones that most likely will face the crackdown.
