How to Buzz Through TSA During the Holidays

The holidays are officially upon us and that means more travelers hitting the airport to visit friends, families or possibly just take advantage of a rockin’ travel deal. There’s no doubt that the airport will be crowded with travelers and lovely people picking up and saying goodbye, but the busiest place won’t be the stores or eateries, or even the waiting room, but the security line. No one likes to wait in it and everyone thinks it’s a hassle, even though it’s kind of exciting, because you’re going somewhere, hopefully, fun. While your airport might be more organized than some others out there, they still need you to do your part in making security an easier process for everyone. Here are some tips to help you get through security quickly and easily, even if they pull you aside and dig through your bag.

Have your photo ID and boarding pass in-hand – You can’t even get to the security conveyor belts and scanners if you don’t make it past the TSA agent in the line. Make sure to be prepared and keep the line moving, by having your photo ID (or passport) and boarding pass at the ready. Nobody wants to wait for you to dig around in your bag to find it and you will just make enemies of those people in line behind you. Even better, download the airline app and use the e-ticket to check in and get through security. You can use your phone to show the passes of everyone in your travel group, as long as they have their identification out.

Have your 3-1-1 bag out – Don’t wait until you get to the airport to start rummaging around in your toiletry bag and finding all your liquids and gels. Buy a TSA-approved 3-1-1 bag online or at the store or pick up a box of 1-liter zip-top bags and fill it up before you leave home. It will make you less stressed and you’ll know that everything fits in there.

Wear easy-on, easy-off shoes – Do you want to spend 20 minutes untying your hiking books to take off and put in the security bin? Probably not. Also, the people behind you do not want to wait for you either. Make sure you wear shoes that can easily be taken off and put back on, so you can make security procedures that much less painful for you and everyone else involved.

Do not wrap your gifts – TSA is all about seeing everything in your bag. Even if you only have one gift in your bag, don’t wrap it. You will have spent all that time and energy making it look pretty and then getting it into your bag, only to have an agent rip your paper to shreds to find out what you packed. Bring small gifts that can be packed without boxes and wrapping paper. By all means, bring those staples with you to wrap at your destination if you have room in your bag.

Make sure your laptop is easily accessible – If you’re bringing a laptop, netbook or iPad, make sure you can quickly access it and slide it in and out of your carry-on. It will make the security line that much faster when you have to dump all your individual things into a bin: shoes, jacket, purse, pocket contents, laptop, 3-1-1 bag. The quicker these things can be put into a bin, the faster you can push them towards the X-Ray machine and make room for other travelers’ items and bins on the counter.

Go to the left – Most people are predisposed to turn right, probably because they are right-handed, but that means the left lines are usually shorter at TSA. If you aren't being directed by a security person, try this, or look for the line with fewest kids. I'm not being ageist, but you know those harried moms and dads have to do a bunch of things to get their little ones through the line, especially if strollers are involved. They're going to hold you up, too.

Apply for Pre-Check – There's still time before Christmas hols to get on the Pre-Check list. Why is it awesome? Because you can leave your laptop and liquids in your bag, plus keep your shoes and jacket on. Remember when travel used to be so easy? Eric and I have gotten approved for Pre-Check and It's. The. Best. You save a ton of time, too, because the line is shorter and you don't have to do all that extra stuff. It costs $85, but it is valid for 5 years, so if you travel at least twice per year, or through really busy airports, then it's worth it.

If you're traveling for the holidays, where will you be headed?

Eating at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

By now you've read all about my visit to to Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. I saved the best for last, because the food is actually really delicious. I don't mean in comparison to theme park food. I just mean in general. Of course, most people come to Wizarding World with a singular food goal: Butterbeer. 

Butterbeer is the iconic Harry Potter beverage. Despite popular belief, it is non-alcoholic (I mean, kids drink it). I'd had it in two forms the last trip I made and while at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in London, but it's now available in a third delicious option.

Cold Butterbeer is highly popular, especially in Orlando. (Also, that chocolate trifle is fresh and delicious.) It's cream soda based, so it's sweet and frothy. Though yummy, cold Butterbeer is now my least favorite of the three.

If you're feeling really hot, frozen Butterbeer is where it's at. This is my second favorite form of butterbeer. It's totally refreshing and I could drink it all day, if it wouldn't make my teeth fall out. 

My favorite, and the newest form of Butterbeer is hot. It's like a latte mixed with hot vanilla milk. It may have been 85 degrees outside, but I was willing to make the sacrifice to be able to tell you how it compared to the other two. If you're here in the morning, which you should be, order this instead of coffee. You'll thank me. 

You can purchase Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, The Hopping Pot, and the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, plus you can get cold and frozen at Butterbeer stands in each. 

Speaking of the Leaky Cauldron, I was really excited to eat there. I mean, everyone in the Wizarding world uses it as a gateway. This one doesn't have old Tom, but they have a fantastic dining room. You order at the counter, are taken to a table and served by staff that has these awesome hats. I tried to buy one, but they only had something similar in brown. Boo. They looked soft and comfortable, plus everyone looked fantastic in them.

We made a point to eat here twice, and I would have eaten there again if we had been there longer. Look at that Weasley-sized cauldron! You feel like you're really inside Harry Potter's world when you're here. Everywhere you look there's something to see, from the staircase leading up to the rooms above the tavern, to the crooked pictures along the wall and the fabulous high ceilings. There were also a lot of Brits there when we visited, which I though was pretty cool. They may have the Warner Bros. Studios with all the sets, but they have nothing on actually being inside the Wizarding World with the actual shops and wizards hanging about. 

First up, let's talk about their breakfasts. We made the mistake of ordering coffee, which was so hot that it was barely cool enough to sip by the time we were finished with our food. This might be how they get out of refills. What you should do instead is order a hot Butterbeer. Eric went for the pancake breakfast and totally snarfed it without a photo. It came with three buttermilk pancakes, bacon, sausage and a croissant. Obviously, he didn't have any complaints. I tasted the pancakes and they were pretty good. Not dry at all and flavorful. 

I wanted to try something different, but I didn't think I could handle the traditional breakfast, so instead went with the Egg, Leek and Mushroom Pasty. Oh. My. Goodness. was this good. As you can see it came with potatoes and a mass of fruit. I shared some of the fruit with Eric, but that pasty (pronounced pass-tee) was amazing. The flaky biscuit was full of the perfect combination of eggs, leeks and mushrooms and it totally filled me up. All the morning dishes, with the exception of the kids meal, are $15.99, but I thought it was well worth the price. 

Moving on to lunch (and dinner), we made another trip to the Leaky, because why not? They have some great traditional options here, instead of chicken sandwiches and hamburgers. It makes a nice change, plus gives you a sweet little taste of the UK. I love that they have a window that displays the food selections, so you can kind of make up your mind before you get in line and handed a menu. 

Eric went with the Beef,Guinness and Lamb Stew, which came with a side salad and I went big with the Ploughman's Platter, which claimed to serve two. I know Eric was torn between getting something else that came with a Scotch Egg and I wasn't starving, so a salad with cheese and bread sounded like a nice light option. We didn't make the mistake of not ordering Butterbeer this time, but to even it out, I tried the Peachtree Fizzing Tea. Make sure to ask for sweetener for it though, because it's not that fizzy and kinda blah without it. The stew was probably one of the best I'd ever tasted. 

My salad was good; however, some of the cheese was kind of flavorless. It may have been better with the mustard, but I don't eat mustard. Eric loves mustard and said it was too strong for him. It was okay, but I wouldn't get it again. If you're really hungry, this won't serve two of you.

Since Eric said we couldn't eat all our meals a the Leaky (I beg to differ), we compromised and went to lunch at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. I had eaten here before and didn't get a chance to try everything I wanted. The tavern is attached to the Hogs Head Pub, which sells alcohol, like Firewhiskey, and has a giant hog's head on the wall behind the bar that intermittently snorts, which I find hilarious. You can hear it in the Three Broomsticks dining room. I love it.

Just as in the Leaky, you can view the foods served here in a window. We decided to save money and order the Great Feast, which serves two. We had also just had huge ice creams, so we weren't actually hungry enough to have our own meals. The Great Feast comes with ribs, chicken, fried potatoes, roasted vegetables and a giant ear of corn. It was perfect for our needs. We augmented with that lovely little trifle at the top. 

The decor is rustic and wooden in the Three Broomsticks, and exactly what you would expect. You order at the counter, pick up your food and drinks at another counter and then get taken to a table. I like that you're never on your own here. They also have outdoor seating that gives you a view of Hogwarts. 

Remember when Harry ran away from home, took the Knight Bus to London and lived in a room above the Leaky Cauldron before his third year? He spent his days studying(!) and eating free ice creams from Florean Fortescue's. Florean took a liking to him and gave him cones of sweet creamy goodness, like strawberry peanut butter. I would have tried that, but instead, I found two even better sounding flavors once we entered the delightfully pink ice cream shop. You can choose from soft-serve or regular ice cream and your cone comes with two flavors (you can also get a cup, but what the hey. Calories don't count on vacation.).

Eric went traditional with mint and chocolate soft-serve. Basically, it all starts out as vanilla and the flavors get swirled in. I'm actually surprised he didn't go for Butterbeer. I will have to try that one next time. I chose sticky toffee pudding and chocolate chili, because I wanted something entirely different. I debated over clotted cream and lavender earl grey, which I would have gotten had we made a second trip like we were planning. If you like spice, the chocolate chili is fantastic. it's sweet, but hot, which can completely freak out your taste buds. The sticky toffee pudding was just cold and sweet, but with chunks of cake in it. I was glad that one was on the bottom, to cool off my tongue from the spicy chili. 

In the Florida heat, it's important to keep hydrated. While in other parts of the park you can drink sodas all day long, you won't find any of that in the Wizarding World. The Hopping Pot serves up all three types of Butterbeer as well as alcoholic drinks, plus they have a lot of seating for you to relax at and just soak in the atmosphere. I mean, look at that photo and imagine it being even better in person.

One of my favorite drinks from the Harry Potter books is Pumpkin Juice. I've made some myself at home for parties and I could probably drink it all the time. It's not cheap to buy at the WWoHP, but it does come in this adorable bottle with a pumpkin topper, which I brought home as a souvenir. If you like pumpkin flavored things and enjoy juice in general, this is a must-try. You can purchase it at the Fountain of Fair Fortune.

Also at the Fountain you can find Gilly Water. Now, we aren't entirely sure what it is from the books, but here (and at my house), Gilly Water is just water. Universal makes it special by selling it alongside fruity flavorings disguised as potions, like the Draught of Peace. I know, it's a way to get more of your money, but you can also just buy the flavorings to use with your own water. Also, they're tasty if you are tired of boring old water. 

The Wizarding World has a good variety of foods and beverages and most are decently priced. Out front of King's Cross Station, you can hit up the potato kiosk that serves up jacket potatoes with all types of toppings. That's just a fancy name for baked potatoes. I regret I was never hungry enough to eat there as well, but there was always someone in line, so I'll definitely try one next time. All in all, I'd skip many of the in-park restaurants to eat at one of the restaurants in the wizarding parts of the parks. 

What have you always wanted to try from the Harry Potter series?

Visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Knockturn Alley

Okay, so we're onto part 3 of my trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. If you missed the others, check out Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. After walking around in the blazing hot sun of Florida, even in September, the dark and cool Knockturn Alley seems like a great place to hide for a little bit. If you have an interactive wand, you can spend even more time here, as there are quite a few place to use it and use magic. Knockturn Alley, like you might expect from reading about it in the Harry Potter books, is everything that Diagon Alley (where it is located) isn't. Where Diagon is bright and vibrant, Knocturn is almost pitch black. Someone complained that there wasn't any seating here, but if there was, you'd almost certainly trip over it. 

To get the feeling of being in a creepy wizarding alley, they've put Knockturn Alley inside, though with all the windows for store fronts, it feels as if you are still outside, but in a really shady neighborhood. There are two places you can slip into this dark wizard area, which may not be that easy to spot if you aren't looking for it.  

Now, you may have figured it out already, but if not, I love Halloween and creepy things and I wanted to know more about Knockturn Alley when reading the books. I was intrigued by the kinds of macabre and evil things these shops were selling. I mean, that one witch was selling what looked like fingernails. What were those for? Well, I probably won't find out, but the wares of Knockturn Alley are varied and the windows are just as thought out and packed as in the rest of the Wizarding World. 

You'll find poisons, bat meat, skeletons, shrunken heads, insects and more within this small shopping district, though they are all just for show. There's so much to look at, even in the darkness, that you may spend even more time there to see what's actually on display.

Obviously, Knockturn Alley was built around that iconic dark wizard shop Borgin and Burkes. It's the only place to shop here, but there's so much to see that it's not disappointing at all. Almost everything on display is for sale, so you can pick up a shirt touting the dark arts, a hefty locket horcrux replica or even a skull for your personal enjoyment. Whether you're in the market for a dark artifact or not, you'll want to make a visit here just to see some of the things you've read about.

I kind of love the horned skull on display, but the Death Eater Masks and jars full of weird potion ingredients really gave me some inspiration for my own Harry Potter party decor. 

Remember the vanishing cabinet? It's here! Step a little closer to it and you can hear that little bird chirping away inside. You'll also see the fake Moody's seven-lock trunk. It's just rattling away under a table full of other great stuff and next to a cabinet full of a bunch of freaky artifacts. Yes, that doll's eyes did just move. Ever wondered what the Hand of Glory looked like? Well, it's in a different cabinet, along with a werewolf claw. Want to see that cursed necklace that Katie Bell somehow ended up with? It's here as well.

Don't forget to look up here, too. There's even more up there, like that hideous troll foot umbrella stand Tonks kept knocking over in Grimmauld Place. You want one now, don't you? I didn't ask if it was for sale, but I probably couldn't afford it anyway (or get it home on the plane if I could). This shop wasn't huge, but since every nook and cranny is full of crazy stuff, it actually felt much bigger than it is. 

Some of my photos are lightened up a bit to actually show you what the picture is of, because the alley is actually that dark. I probably wouldn't head in alone, because sometimes it's hard to just spot another visitor in the gloom, and I'm a wuss who's afraid of the dark. Aside from that, it's definitely a must-see, because you can totally feel how uneasy and lost Harry felt when he accidentally ended up in Borgin and Burkes instead of the Leaky Cauldron. Thank goodness for Hagrid! 

Knockturn Alley is a great respite from the heat and satisfies most of your curiosities about the darker wizarding shopping area. Next up, we'll be talking food! What were you most awed by in Knockturn in the books or movies?