Review - Florida - Orlando - Disney Springs - Blaze Pizza

Disney Springs can get super-crowded during Spring Break (which is the season spanning across March and April as different schools take off different times).

Every restaurant had a long line for dinner, including Blaze Pizza. But, I quickly found their mobile ordering app!

You can place your order ahead of time on their app and they will text you when it's ready to pick up. This is perfect when you don't want to wait in a long line (or, more accurately, your kids don't want to wait).


I ordered cheesy bread which came with plenty of pieces to share and some marinara dipping sauce.

I ordered 2 custom pizzas (11"). They don't seem to limit the number of toppings so we put a little bit of everything on those. My only complaint was that you can't do half-pizza like at other pizza ordering companies (such as putting onions on only one-half of the pizza and peppers on the other-half). It's all-or-nothing for the toppings. So picky eaters will have to manually extract things they don't like.

The prices were pretty good for Disney. Turn-around for the order was pretty quick despite the long lines. Once it was ready, I went into the exit door and right to the pick-up counter. The staff was very friendly and exceptional. I would definitely recommend this restaurant and we'll be back again next time!

Overall Family Review:

• 16 year old - Enjoyed the custom pizza (and getting to decide what to put on it)
• 11 year old - Shared piza with his brother
• 6 year old - Picky eater; enjoyed the cheesy bread

Review - Florida - Orlando - Disney Springs

Whenever I'm in Florida, I almost always end up at Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida. It's a shopping and restaurant mecca within Walt Disney World.

Parking in any of the garages is free (for the time being!). They have smart parking whereby you can see how many spots are available per floor and then you look for the green light for an open spot. After you park, you will head to the second floor via elevator or stairs.


Before you can enter Disney Springs, you must now go through a temperature and security check. This long, unorganized line took quite some time. People were not social-distancing if that's important to you. They did require masks.

Since this visit occurred during what I call
Spring Break season", around 6pm EST, it was crowded (as it was pre-Covid). The dinner crowd was out in full-force and long lines were seen at every restaurant.

The Disney Store now requires shoppers to enter a queue to be allowed in the store a few at a time. The Disney Store line (which is hidden on the far side of the building) took over 45 minutes.


The Lego Store had some new decor on the outside - Fantasia Mickey, Star Wars characters, and Frozen. They removed the buildable racecar area and put in a queue to enter the store.

Disney Springs did offer entertainment - there was a concert playing on the stage area and there were other "local" musicians. Some of the shops had closed early (around 8pm EST). We skipped some of our favorite places because the lines were too long. Overall, it's starting to feel more normal (pre-Covid).

Review - Florida - Miami - Zoo Miami

Zoo Miami has been on my bucket list for Florida for awhile and we finally got the opportunity to visit during Spring Break. It's a lengthy drive to Zoo Miami from the city, but it was worth it. The space, greenery and layout was appealing when we arrived. Parking is free.

Since we visited the zoo with a reciprocal membership ticket (for 50% off ticket prices), we were able to get our tickets at the window. Otherwise, you need to purchase your tickets online ahead of time. Current prices are $22.95 for people 13+ and $18.95 for children ages 3-12.

Currently, masks are required but no temperatures were taken and no one enforced the mask policy.

Since we visited on a weekday, there was no crowd at all. Lines were short and fast.


To participate in the Virtual Egg Hunt, you need to download a third-party app called Eventzee, enter the ZooMiami code, then scan each QR coded egg as you find them along your journey. Each egg comes with a hint which the kids enjoyed deciphering (even though the eggs are in order as you walk along the path). My only complaint was that the game says one treat per device but the attendant at the end of the game refused to honor that and said it was one per family.

The zoo is beautiful and the habitats are natural-looking.

If you prefer not to do a lot of walking, you can pedal around instead on a rented surrey bike. Prices start at $39 for a small bike or $54 for a larger bike, for three hours.

They had pedal boats (to rent?) but no one was attending it that day.

Lots of fun photo-ops. We got a big kick out of the last one - some people might find it rude, but we laughed.

Our overall family review:

• 16 year old - Enjoyed the photo ops
• 11 year old - Enjoyed the egg hunt
• 6 year old - Liked the animals; got bored with the egg hunt