So are these wait times the new norm for a 5?

[marinejjh]

So I'm just curious...someone above posted that Touring Plans had Sunday (1/24) as an actual crowd level of a 9 in MK (much higher than their 6 predicted), but EasyWDW had an actual crowd level of a 6 (predicted to be a 5) on that same day.

With the wait times I posted in the OP and the crowds we experienced (i.e. the line for People Mover spilling out into the left side of Tomorrowland and the wait for the train being 4 loads deep and spilling out towards the splash pad), I would definitely say that it "felt like" (yeah, yeah, I know I will get mocked for the use of "felt like" but we have been to the parks almost every year since 2006, so I am at least a little aware of how crowds have changed over the years) closer to a 9. That said, I admit that Thursday 1/21 in MK was great and Friday 1/22 in AK was amazing.

So what are the diferences in how the two sites come up with "actual" crowd levels?

We just got back and the crowds were very similar to what we had 3 summers ago. We had a few slower days because of rain, bit wasn't expecting crowds like that the end of January. We were very glad when our kids said the lines weren't worth it and would rather go to the beach. I told the kids we could do 2 beach vacations a year for what disney cost. And yes I think there staffing is down, most rides weren't at capacity meaning they weren't running all cars or tracks.