The Hobbit movies were a travesty. But The Lord Of The Rings movies made excellent use of miniature models, full size sets, make-up and costumes, and great locations. They come from a period where CGI was much more limited, and the artists behind it weren't trying to do everything with it. When you use CGI for everything, like in The Hobbit movies, you lose connection with reality and it is jarring no matter how detailed it is.

The Hobbit movies were certainly awful. At least there is a pretty good animated version that has some of the heart of the book.

The Hobbit movies are far more egregious in their use of bad CGI than the original trilogy. That river scene is one of the worst offenders in modern movie history for me.

The CGI in LOTR was excellent. My wife and I recently rewatched it, and I thought it aged rather well - because it was used very sparingly. There's a few scenes (Pre-balrog Moria, most the battle of Pelennor Fields, The Paths of the Dead) that look quite bad, but they are few and far between.

The Hobbit, on the other hand, was awful. Way too much bad CGI. (Never mind all the other problems with that adaptation.)

And in my mind, the theme park ride started as soon as the dwarves were captured by the goblins, with the mind-blowing minecart sequence. I did not realize I was paying $14 to watch "Goblin Snuff Amusement Park Expert Swordfighter Drunken Master Ride: Part I, The Enpartening".

The Hobbit films had a troubled production and were terribly rushed. Here's the first video in a small YouTube series on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTRUQ-RKfUs

They were cursed by the passing fad of 3D and IMAX. It really does not look right when viewed on a regular screen.