Crowds today- really that bad?

[DJFan88]

Many are inflated, we have been discovering this week.

 

[Klayfish]

I wonder how many of those wait times are inflated.
I mean even in the afternoon when the park is packed you can still do Hall of Presidents, Country Bears, or Peoplemover without much of a wait, right?

I think they're always at least slightly on the high side. Some of that probably has to do with customer service. Heaven forbid they post 25 minutes and someone waits 26 minutes...you know someone would complain. So in my experience, the standby times are often posted 5-15 minutes longer than the actual wait time. However, at the very end of the night they're often posted significantly higher, I'd presume to discourage people from getting in line. Not all rides are like that...for TSMM, they'll drop wait time to 15 minutes at the end of the night...and it's usually around 5 (or less).

PeopleMover line ebbs and flows. I've seen the line wind all through the queue midday, and then an hour later it's nothing.

 

[Withnail]

As for the bolded part above, are you sure that's not your fond memories of childhood making it seem different than reality. I could be wrong, but I'm not sure there was ever a time where you could just run on a ride 10 times in a row with no wait for something like Buzz (outside of really odd circumstances).

I mean, it's not like there was no line at all. I wasn't the only one riding, but I'd say it was around five minutes or less for each ride.

 

[Itsnotmykitchen]

So, the way it is now, is that what I can expect year round? And a follow up question, is Disneyland the same way now, or are there slow times there still?

This is just from my experience but I do find September and certain weeks right after US kids go back to school (like after New Years) to be significantly calmer and less crazy than other times during the year. Last September, I can only remember waiting for the Seven Dwarf ride without a FP. Lines aside, I just find the restaurants/buses/etc. to be less crowded which adds to my enjoyment. We had almost an entire section of the second floor of Columbia Harbor House when we ate there for lunch in September whereas we struggled to find open tables during a spring break trip two years ago.