Slam, i'd hardly say its a walk in the park given it's notoriety and failure rate.
Agree with everything else you've said.
Despite the study and work I put into it, I still distinctly feel I had a certain amount of luck to get through it on the first go. I know plenty of well prepared, intelligent candidates that have done all the right things and still failed it repeatedly before finally having the "heavens align" to achieve a pass. It's just one of those kinds of exams. Too many variables and not enough time.