frannn,
I've seen the same conflicting stories, but a lot of people have said that the crowds were "normal" or below normal for the end of August/first of September. The FTP was valid for those times too.
I've tried to make reservations at various resorts for the week we'll be there, and I've gotten the "reservations available" each time.
Hopefully, it won't be crowded....but at least we'll be there!