I understand what you are saying here about your son being "flummoxed."  I was born after Vatican II and am an adult convert to Catholicism.  Even the Ordinary Form was a steep learning curve at first-when do  I kneel, when do I say "and also with you," when do I make the sign of the cross?  It all was strange at first.  Adding an additional layer of special knowledge by way of the Extraordinary Form might be a barrier for some.
But I have no reason to doubt the sadness of those older Catholics who feel something sacred was "taken away" from them with the VII changes, or that some experience the holy through the heightened sensory experience of the E.F.  We can have many styles of liturgy as we are not all the same, nor should we be.