Feels like we could be in for a weird and rough middle stage for Epic operations: post-Opening Year hype and fresh car scent, but still not having enough effective capacity or low enough crowds to reasonably introduce APs to make up for that lessened tourist energy.
Epic internally has been working this year to "streamline" operations across the board, cutting redundancies and employees hours as much as they can get away with. They want Epic to be profitable now; but without enough functional capacity to raise their attendance caps like they've wanted to since late last year, there is only so much growth you can find without minimizing that overhead cost (and occasionally, the park experience itself).