I'm going to go out on a limb there and say that my changes are improvements all around. I turned the gaping hole at the beginning into some actual piece of gameplay, and gave the entire thing more flow. I haven't properly tested the part with the spikes (you can't get past without getting hurt) but I like how it's simultaneously punishment for falling from the platform and part of an alternate route. It's also easier to get into the annoying hard spike part at the top (it was ridiculous before).