Anyone Taken a Lightsaber on a Flight as Carry on?

We leave in the morning, if you consider 2:45 a.m. as morning, to head for the airport to go to WDW. It has just now occurred to me to worry about getting the lightsabers DH and DS are building home on the plane. How has this worked out for people?

Check the TSA website, but I believe they are considered approved for carry-on.

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Thanks, I am concerned about the airline (United) allowing it as a carry on.

They are allowed in carry-ons as well as checked bags. Some people have reported keeping them with them in their seat like a cane. Others have broken them down into hilt and blade so they fit in checked luggage. You can also mail them home for a chunk of change (I think I read it was like $60?)

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Confirmation from TSA:

Allowed in both checked and carry on.

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We flew SW. We tried to break it down and remove the hilt to fit it in the luggage, but there was no way it was fitting (I’m not sure what size luggage folks have that fit them, it must be enormous!). We carried ours on without issue. They didn’t allow us to keep it beside us, we needed to put it in the overhead, but the flight attendant waited until everything else was loaded and put it in last so it wasn’t slammed by other luggage.

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Took it on as my personal item fully intact. No issues at TSA, just sent it through the Xray and picked it up on the other side. Put it in the overhead bin on the fights home.

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Check this thread too: Light Saber Logistics

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My advice to anyone flying is to check with their airline.

For example, most international airlines have pretty strict rules about dimensions for carry-on items - unless you’re travelling premium / business class. Effectively they must be able to fit in the overhead lockers, otherwise they will insist on the item being gate checked unless it’s a medical necessity.

Plus if you have an exit row seat, you cannot have anything on the floor or impeding the row at any point during the flight.

Relying on TSA rules could lead to disaster. Maybe all US airlines have to abide by TSA rules about carry-ons, but international airlines definitely don’t.

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The resort gift shops can assist you with packing and shipping the light saber to your house. The cost was reasonable and definitely worth the headaches we saved ourselves. Take your purchase receipts because the charges are scaled downward for larger purchases.

If you use this option, get it done the evening before your departure.

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I carried it on my flight Thursday. I noticed I wasn’t the only one. They fit in the overhead bin and I’m currently in my living room waving it around scaring the dog. Recommend

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I think it was around $18 to ship the lightsaber home from DL - we ended up buying Jedi Robes and sending all the stuff home for around $40. It arrived about 10 days later -the lightsaber was well packed and survived the shipping. Worth it in my opinion for the hassle of dealing with something oddly shaped on the way home.

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Thank you for all of the advice. The lightsabers have been made and are currently in our room at POFQ. We have until Friday to decide our method to best get them home.

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Just an update. We had no difficulty bringing the lightsabers on as carryons on our United flight in Orlando or on the connecting flight out of Denver.