Yea.. the load times were what bothered me the most about 2004, and 2008 is only MARGINALLY better. I think it loads, maybe, 1-2 seconds faster than 2004, which is a joke.
Once the program is running it feels faster than 2004, so luckily if I'm using Word, Excel, or Entourage alot, I can keep them active for a much faster workflow. But when you compare them to iWork '08, it's ridiculous how slowly they load.