Here's an Expo tip for you: Be sure to take your passport (and I'm not talking about the souvenir kind either).

On our recent visit, this little trick went straight to the top of the list we've been collecting here, and saved us at least five hours of queue time. I had a vague notion I'd read somewhere that this could work and a visiting friend happened to have his French passport with him. We made our way to the restricted access lane for France and lo and behold, at the bottom the list there it was, just after pregnant women and the disabled:

"Holders of a valid French passport with two acompanying guests."

Bingo. We were in.

Next stop, the UK. I didn't have my passport, would a UK driver's licence suffice? Yes, indeed it would. Not quite as straightforward as the French--we first tried the VIP access but simply being a British Citizen does not make you quite important enough for this door. I was directed further on to the Entertainers' access where, after a few hurried words with a British staffer to confirm my driver's licence was in fact from the UK, the guard let us in. We arrived at the exit of the actual pavilion but a quick "I'm English" was all that was needed for us to pass through the rope barrier and start our visit.

Granted, this technique is not going to work everywhere, but believe me, getting in to just one of the "hot" pavilions without a mind-numbing queue can make or break your day, so give it a shot. If you've got three nationalities between you, then half your day is covered right there, and if you havent got any ID handy? Well, I guess you could always try singing the national anthem...