People seem to have very short memories. It was about the same in before times.
From my 2018 Blue Bayou Fantasmic Dining package review
https://www.disboards.com/threads/review-fantasmic-blue-bayou-dining-package-june-2018.3694811/
I was down at Winnie The Pooh ride and I came back up to Haunted Mansion about 7. 10pm to find the Fantasmic entrance. There were alot of people hanging around so I sat on the wall outside Haunted Mansion.
At about 7.20pm I saw a big group heading over to the line up area so I went over to the CM to ask.
The CMs had the ropes up but were still allowing people to walk through. They had started 3 pre line up lines. Hungry Bear at the railings, Blue Bayou in the middle and RiverBelle at the far side. It was very confusing as there were no ropes up and families were bunched together. People from River Belle were in the Blue Bayou Line and people from Blue Bayou were in the River Belle line. It was only due to everyone talking and saying Im in the line for Blue Bayou that you could find the right line. This all happened between 7.15pm and 7.45pm.
At 7.45pm the CM's stopped people from walking through and started organising the lines. Hungry Bar were brought through first to a holding area, then us in the Blue Bayou line were brought through our holding area and then River Belle were brought through. Each viewing area was marked on the ground with tape and had a separate entrance area. At 8pm they let us through the viewing areas, at the entrance the CM took your Fantasmic ticket.