Four-hour waits come to some of Walt Disney World's most popular rides during the busiest week of the year

It is officially the busiest week of the year at Walt Disney World, and guests are finding very long lines at the most popular attractions.

Photo: WDWMAGICWalt Disney World continues to be a hugely popular destination for the holidays

Most e-ticket rides have wait times above two hours, with headliners like Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney's Animal Kingdom reaching more than four hours.

Photo: WDWMAGICFlight of Passage at Disney's Animal Kingdom currently leads the wait times at 260 minutes

Standby waits at Slinky Dog Dash, Tower of Terror, Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure are consistently around three hours.

Photo: WDWMAGICRise of the Resistance currently has a 175 minute wait time at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Even high-capacity people-eater attractions like Spaceship Earth, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean are seeing extended wait times above an hour.

These long waits come despite Disney using its park pass reservation system, which was said to have been introduced to provide guests with a better experience and less overcrowding.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror has consistently had a two-hour plus wait this week

Many Disney fans believe the reason for the park pass reservation system is to allow Disney to balance guest numbers across the parks and, most importantly, to manage labor resources, streamlining efficiency and costs.

With the parks operating at maximum capacity, guests are also being impacted by Disney's Genie+ service. With Lightning Lane allocation heavily outnumbering standby allocation, guests in standby lines face frustratingly long waits as the queue moves at a snail's pace. Disney Genie+, the ride reservation system, is currently sold at $29 per guest, per day. Guests purchasing Genie+ can expect to secure, on average, two to three Lightning Lane reservations in a day, leaving even Genie+ buyers no other option but to join long standby lines.

Genie+ currently costs $29 to secure on average two-to-three Lightning Lane selections

Long waits are certainly nothing new during busy times, and previous year's have seen even longer waits at headliner rides. But with Disney Executives frequently lauding park pass reservations and Genie+ as being guest focussed benefits, the conditions in the theme parks this week are a reminder that visiting Disney World during peak periods isn't for everyone, and expectations should be set accordingly.

Photo: WDWMAGICHolidays at Disney's Animal Kingdom