HELP. Light saber in the airport!?!?

[KTwiegs]

Here now and made a big mistake. Our son fell in love with a light saber and without thinking we bought it. Well it doesn’t fit in our luggage. This is not a collapsible one. We were wondering if anyone has gotten it through security and on to the plane?

We might be able to get it into our stroller somehow but worried it will be broken in storage
Thank you for any help!

 

[dreiwhit]

Can you get a box and mail it home to yourself? I've done that before while on vacation with the souvineers I had bought that were too big to take on the airplane.

 

[china mom]

Unless it is a real, working light saber, I don't see the problem. If it is a real one, you would be better of shipping it.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

We bought two of those GIANT Sorceror Mickey wands... no they do not fit in luggage. But they DO fit in overhead bins! Just barely... I think TSA and the airline took pity on us and let us bring them as my DD's "personal item bag".

 

[Micca]

I'm betting TSA at MCO sees these things regularly and will likely allow it. If it's going to be a big worry, check with the front desk at your resort. I'm sure they can help you getting it shipped home. Again, they must deal with this regularly.

 

[BrianL]

On the TSA Website they actually address the issue of Light Sabers. On the "What can I Bring" page you can enter a query. This is the result:

Light Saber

• Carry On Bags: Yes
• Checked Bags: Yes

Sadly, the technology doesn't currently exist to create a real lightsaber. However, you can pack a toy lightsaber in your carry-on or checked bag. May the force be with you.

I doubt it would be a big deal if it wasn't in a piece of luggage, especially at MCO, where like every other person in line has a bunch of merchandise in a Disney Parks bag. I'd put it in one of those and let it stick out the top.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We carried 2 of them on board as my DD and DS’s carry ons. They weren’t in bags, just put in the overhead and it was fine.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

We carried ours on the plane.

 

[ShadeDK]

If airport security tries to stop you, just look them in the eye, wave your hand and say "These are not the unauthorized-TSA items you were looking for. Move along."

As others have commented, it shouldn't be a problem and allowable as a carry-on to store in the overheads. Haven't tried it myself, but I certainly would go that route (as there's no way it would fit in my luggage and I'm definitely not keen on handing it over to the baggage handlers).

 

[bumbershoot]

I’ve seen several of the giant kylo ren lightsabers carries onto the plane.

We once carried a big stormtrooper blaster onto the plane.

TSA knows these aren’t real weapons, thank goodness.

 

[Dug720]

If airport security tries to stop you, just look them in the eye, wave your hand and say "These are not the unauthorized-TSA items you were looking for. Move along."

As others have commented, it shouldn't be a problem and allowable as a carry-on to store in the overheads. Haven't tried it myself, but I certainly would go that route (as there's no way it would fit in my luggage and I'm definitely not keen on handing it over to the baggage handlers).

Given that we are talking MCO where the TSA agents have plenty of attitude and zero humor, I would not attempt that first but AT ALL unless you want to spend a little more time being questioned and probed.

 

[ShadeDK]

Given that we are talking MCO where the TSA agents have plenty of attitude and zero humor, I would not attempt that first but AT ALL unless you want to spend a little more time being questioned and probed.

I hear what you're saying and that's exactly what most people do - follow direction, don't make waves and don't cause any problems where they might make your life even more difficult. Which is what they expect you to do. And how they end up piling even more requirements on top of everyone until we end up with messes like the one at MCO. I get that people get along to go along - I wouldn't blame them - it's just that I prefer not to live in fear of being pulled aside and harassed by a low-level bureaucrat like it's 1950s East Berlin for an innocent comment.

I'll also add that screeners are face-to-face with the public going through the airport all day long - many of whom are already stressed from the thought of flying, or running late, or even the security process itself. Many people attempt humor in stressful situations (even if badly done). If one of those screeners can't tolerate a simple joke based off a well-known movie quote and related to a toy lightsaber but instead feels the need to pull a passenger for interrogation, that screener has no business interacting with the public and should be fired immediately.

 

[bumbershoot]

If one of those screeners can't tolerate a simple joke based off a well-known movie quote and related to a toy lightsaber but instead feels the need to pull a passenger for interrogation, that screener has no business interacting with the public and should be fired immediately.

Alas, you’ve literally just described every tsa agent I’ve encountered at mco. Likely including their supervisors. So...good luck with that last part.

 

[BrianL]

Given that we are talking MCO where the TSA agents have plenty of attitude and zero humor, I would not attempt that first but AT ALL unless you want to spend a little more time being questioned and probed.

I've never found that to be the case at MCO. In fact, the TSA agents there seem quite friendly to me. On my last trip, my bag had been called out for extra screening because of some Trader Sam's tiki mugs I had in it. The lady who had to check my bag apologized to me and told me the person running the x-ray was new to this airport and that they see the Disney stuff all the time, but if the x-ray operator says check it, they have to check it. I thought they were very pleasant. I mean, it's not ATL!

 

[dnw25]

We had no problem in mid May with kylo ren’s. Not in bag either. Just carried with us

 

[Stefne]

We have carried them on the plane before as well. I wouldn't stress since they likely see it all the time. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[CarolinaBlue99]

We bought the Rey light saber from the Disney Store in Times Square and carried it home on the plane. The TSA agent at LaGuardia did swab it for explosive residue after sending it through the X Ray machine. Then he handed it back to my DD and said “May The Force Be With You.”

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Given that we are talking MCO where the TSA agents have plenty of attitude and zero humor, I would not attempt that first but AT ALL unless you want to spend a little more time being questioned and probed.

We’ve been pretty lucky. We’ve had generally friendly agents at MCO. They often joke with our kids or ask them about the trip.

O’Hare, on the hand ...

 

[xjillianpaige]

I've never found that to be the case at MCO. In fact, the TSA agents there seem quite friendly to me. On my last trip, my bag had been called out for extra screening because of some Trader Sam's tiki mugs I had in it. The lady who had to check my bag apologized to me and told me the person running the x-ray was new to this airport and that they see the Disney stuff all the time, but if the x-ray operator says check it, they have to check it. I thought they were very pleasant. I mean, it's not ATL!

Ditto. Of course people have bad days, but I had my bag double checked because of the fudge I was bringing home from Harry Potter Land (butterbeer fudge - for the record I wouldn't get it again) and the agent helping me was very pleasant! It's partly luck of the draw.

 

[austinsmommie]

We have carried on a very large stitch stuffed animal and one of those banshees that perch on your shoulder in its large box. We had no problems. I know we had purchased a double sided light saber before I just don't remember if we carried it on, I am thinking we did as we have never shipped anything home and it would not have fit into our suitcase. I don't remember having any issues.