I remember a few weeks before our first visit that the crowd calendar changed quite a bit. We will be planning to go this time the second week of December and just wondering if that will happen again.
The issue is that Disney has been waiting until the last minute to update their hours and extend via EMH. I think they’re doing it only a month or so out now. That’s likely what changed the crowd predictions. Longer park hours draw bigger crowds.
I can say that it was more crowded than expected after mid-September on this year. That’s continued into the new year. If you look at what the crowd levels were this past December, you’ll get a feel. I would use those levels, in conjunction with the predictions to do your initial planning.