last time I did this, it only took 3 hours.... I brought a printout of my airline reservation, passport application,
photos, and money(of course). My appointment at the passport agency was 10:00AM. I showed up 30 minutes
early, cleared security, and proceeded to a window. The agent looked over everything and told me to come back at
1:00PM. I went to see a movie because there was a cineplex a block from the passport agency. One movie, one
large popcorn, and three sodas later, I walked back to the passport agency. The passport was ready as promised.
(except my photo on the data page looked awful, despite the fact that I supplied a crystal clear passport photo
taken by a professional photographer )

While I was there, a couple showed up without an appointment. They had some sort of family emergency and
had to get passports for that evening's flight. The passport agency took care of them without any fuss.... which
was rare for a government agency.