The Disney President’s Day Soccer Tournament runs February 14 to 16, 2026 at ESPN Wide World of Sports inside Walt Disney World. Around 350 teams, age groups 9U through 19U for both boys and girls, with showcase and tournament divisions running side by side. It is the largest of the three Disney soccer weekends Disney holds each year, and the one with the deepest competition for the older age groups because it doubles as a college-recruiting event.
If your kid’s team just got the invite and you are wondering how the weekend works, what it costs, and where to stay, this is the guide. Real numbers, parent-tested logistics, and the line items that ambush first-time families.
The short version. Three days of soccer, Saturday through Monday. Hotel block opens about 90 days out and the cheap Disney Value resorts fill within a week. Entry fee per team is $1,200 to $1,700 depending on division. Plan $3,400 to $5,200 all in for a family of four flying in, depending on whether you add a Magic Kingdom day.
The Event in One Page
Dates: Saturday February 14 to Monday February 16, 2026. Monday is President’s Day, federal holiday.
Venue: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, 700 South Victory Way, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. Soccer plays on the championship-fields side of the complex. The full venue write-up lives at the ESPN Wide World of Sports soccer guide.
Age groups: 9U through 19U, boys and girls.
Format split: Showcase divisions for U15 through U19 (college coaches sideline-watching, no standings, no trophies). Tournament divisions for U9 through U14 (full bracket play, semifinals, finals, championship trophy). Some age groups offer both depending on team count.
Competitive levels: Within each age group, brackets split into Champion, Premier, and Classic flights based on team experience and roster strength. Bracket assignment is committee-determined after the registration window closes.
Approximate teams: 350. The largest by team count of Disney’s three soccer events. President’s Day pulls more out-of-state teams than Memorial Day because the recruiting calendar peaks in February.
Sanctioning: Presented by ESPN Wide World of Sports. Accepts teams from US Club Soccer, USYS, ECNL, MLS Next, ECRL, EDP, and most major regional leagues. Player passes from any of those federations are valid.
Game format: Three-game guarantee minimum. Showcase teams play three matches over the weekend with no elimination. Tournament-division teams play pool games Saturday and Sunday, semifinals and finals Monday for advancing teams.
Registration window: Early registration deadline October 10, 2025. Final acceptance deadline January 12, 2026. The early window discount runs about $150 cheaper per team. Popular age groups (U13 through U15 girls showcase, U16 boys) fill weeks before the final deadline.
Entry fee: $1,200 to $1,700 per team, depending on division and registration timing. The fee covers field rental, officials, scheduling, and event administration. It does not cover the per-spectator gate fee, parking, photo packages, or any merchandise.
Contact: ESPN Wide World of Sports Soccer Office. Email wdw.sports.soccer@disneysports.com. Phone 407-938-3805. Registration and the official event hub live at disneysoccer.com.
Why President’s Day Is the Calendar-Anchor Weekend
Among the three Disney soccer events, President’s Day is the one most clubs build their winter calendar around.
The January Girls Showcase is recruiting-only, U15 to U19 girls, roughly 200 teams. Specialized.
The Memorial Day weekend in late May is family-flavored, around 300 teams, smaller pools, more vacation framing. Covered in our Disney Memorial Day Soccer 2026 guide if your team plays both.
President’s Day is the headcount weekend. Boys and girls. Every age group from 9U to 19U. Both showcase and tournament divisions. The biggest crowd, the deepest brackets in the older boys’ divisions, and the only Disney weekend where the lower-age tournament teams play on fields next to college-recruiting showcase teams.
The trade-off is logistics density. With 350 teams on the same complex over three days, parking lots fill earlier, hotel block fills faster, and the on-site lines (food, ATM, welcome center) are longer than at Memorial Day. Plan accordingly.
The other trade-off is weather. Mid-February in Orlando is cool. Highs in the upper 60s to low 70s, lows in the low 50s, occasionally colder overnight. The fields play well in cool weather, but a 9:00am Saturday kickoff in 48-degree damp grass is not the Florida-vacation experience first-timers expect. Pack jackets.
Registration Walkthrough
The team manager handles registration through the Disney portal (currently the GotSport integration). As a parent, here is what you actually need to know.
Team registration. Submitted by the club. Includes roster, proof of insurance, US Club Soccer or USYS pass for each player. Fee paid by the team, not per player. Most clubs front the entry fee and split it across the roster in seasonal dues. Per-player share usually lands $90 to $140 depending on team size.
Early vs final deadline. Early registration closes October 10, 2025, and is the cheaper window. Disney offers roughly $150 off the per-team fee for teams that commit early. Final acceptance deadline is January 12, 2026, but functionally the popular age groups close much sooner because the brackets cap out. If your daughter is U14 girls Champion flight and your team manager is still debating in December, you are probably already too late for the top bracket.
The deposit. Disney holds the entry fee in full once submitted. Teams that withdraw before January 12 get a partial refund minus the administrative portion (typically $300 to $400 retained). After January 12, the entry fee is non-refundable. Hotel deposits are separate and follow the housing partner’s cancellation policy, usually full refund up to 30 days out, partial up to 15 days, none inside 15.
Stay-to-play. This is the line item that catches new families every single year. If your club is more than 75 miles from the complex (which is effectively every team flying in plus all teams outside central Florida), every player on the roster must book a room in the official Disney housing block through Disney’s housing partner. You cannot bring an off-block hotel arrangement. You cannot rent an Airbnb. You cannot stay with family in Davenport. Disney verifies the rooms against the roster and the penalty is real. Most years a handful of teams get hit with a non-compliance fine that gets passed back to the offending family.
Booking the hotel block. Open the housing portal the moment your team is accepted. The Disney Value resorts in the block (All-Star Sports, Pop Century, sometimes All-Star Movies) fill within the first week the block opens for President’s Day weekend. The Moderates hold inventory longer but the better rates go first.
Guest players. Add deadline closes one week before the event. If you have a guest player from another club, the team manager handles the add through the portal with the guest’s US Club Soccer pass. The fee for adding a guest is usually $35 paid by the family.
What the Schedule Actually Looks Like
The bracket goes live the Tuesday before the event. Before that, your team has a check-in window assigned (typically Friday afternoon at the welcome center) and a general “Saturday morning” or “Saturday afternoon” kickoff slot, but no specific game time.
Typical 12U boys tournament-division schedule:
- Friday February 13: Optional team check-in, 2:00pm to 7:00pm at the complex welcome center. Wristbands, parking passes, schedule printouts, and the official team gift bag. Bring the team’s insurance roster and player passes. Twenty-minute average line.
- Saturday February 14: Game 1, sometime between 8:00am and 6:00pm. One game only.
- Sunday February 15: Games 2 and 3, with 90 minutes to 4 hours between games depending on the bracket draw.
- Monday February 16: Semifinal or final for teams that advance. Consolation game for teams that do not.
Showcase teams (U15 to U19) typically play one game Saturday, two on Sunday, none on Monday. The Monday gap is intentional. Families that drove or flew in for a Sat-Mon weekend often book Monday afternoon flights and skip Monday entirely.
Two practical reads from this schedule. First, your Sunday game gap is the off-day window. Six hours between games is enough for lunch off-property or a half-day at a theme park. Second, Saturday is a one-game day for most age groups. Half-day of soccer, half-day of free time. The realistic park day if you only want to do one park during the weekend.
Where to Stay
The hotel block is mandatory for stay-to-play teams. Inside the block, here is the honest read.
Disney Value resorts are the cheapest and the highest value for soccer tournament weekends. Pop Century is the favorite among soccer families. The rooms are 260 square feet, two queens or a queen plus a Murphy pull-down. Tournament-weekend rates run $189 to $235 a night during President’s Day weekend. The Pop Century food court opens at 6:00am, which matters when you have a 9:00am Saturday kickoff. Bus service to the complex runs continuously during event weekends, and the bus is the perk you are paying for. No rental car needed if you stay on property.
All-Star Sports is the other Value option. Similar price, similar quality, the sports-themed rooms (basketball, surfing, tennis themes) are a hit with younger kids. Slightly older property than Pop Century. Same bus service.
Moderate resorts (Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter) sit in the $275 to $360 range during President’s Day. Bigger rooms, table-service restaurants on site, more parking if you have a car. Coronado Springs is closest to the complex and has a true conference-hotel feel. Caribbean Beach has the Disney Skyliner gondola to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios for off-day park trips.
Deluxe resorts (Yacht Club, Beach Club, BoardWalk, Polynesian) are in the block but at $480-plus a night. Most soccer families skip these unless someone is using Disney Vacation Club points.
Good Neighbor hotels are off-property partner hotels that are stay-to-play compliant. The list changes year to year but typically includes Hilton Lake Buena Vista, Hilton Bonnet Creek, a few Marriotts in Lake Buena Vista, and the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista. Cheaper than the Disney resorts by $50 to $80 a night some years. Trade-off: you lose the Disney bus and need a rental car or rideshare to and from games.
The booking tip nobody mentions. Most Disney Value rooms officially sleep four (two queens or one queen plus a Murphy). If you have two parents, one player, and a younger sibling, that fits. If you have a player, a sibling, and a grandparent traveling with you, you need either two adjoining rooms (request these at booking, not guaranteed) or a Moderate with a daybed.
Where to Eat
On-site concessions are typical sports-complex fare. Hot dogs $9, pretzels $7, pizza by the slice $8, bottled water $5. Lines on Saturday morning when six games kick off simultaneously are 25 minutes deep. Plan one meal on-site per game day at most. Pack snacks.
Off the complex, three reliable plays:
Disney Springs, 12 minutes by car. Sit-down dinners that can seat a team of 18 without a two-hour wait. Wine Bar George has a back room that handles team gatherings well. Chicken Guy! is the team-friendly fast-casual that handles 30 people in under 45 minutes. Earl of Sandwich is the cheap-and-fast pre-game lunch pick. Splitsville bowling and food is the if-you-win celebration pick. Reservations for any sit-down spot at Disney Springs during President’s Day weekend should be made two weeks out.
Crossroads of Lake Buena Vista, the strip mall across from the complex. Fast casual chains (Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Pollo Tropical), a Goodings grocery for cooler restocks, a Walgreens, and a CVS for forgotten cleats laces and athletic tape. Good for a between-games lunch when you do not have time to leave the area.
Hotel quick-service. Pop Century’s Everything POP food court is open 6:00am to midnight. Family of four can eat for under $80 a day at the food court. Coronado Springs has Maya Grill and Three Bridges for sit-down. Caribbean Beach has Sebastian’s Bistro.
The cooler tip. Disney resort rooms have a small fridge but no real freezer. Buy a styrofoam cooler at the Walgreens off Hotel Plaza Boulevard for $7, ice it daily at the resort, and that is your sideline cooler for the weekend. Throw it out before you fly home.
What the Weather Will Actually Do
Mid-February in Orlando is the cool season. The pattern most years.
Highs in the upper 60s to mid 70s. Lows in the low 50s. Occasional cold front pushes morning lows into the low 40s for a day or two. Cloudy mornings, sunny afternoons. Rain is less common than in May, but a passing shower is normal at least once over the weekend. Real thunderstorms are rare in February.
The fields play well in cool weather, often better than in the May heat. Drainage is excellent and morning dew burns off by 9:00am. The main issue is the start. A 8:00am Saturday kickoff in February with kids who flew in from Minnesota the night before, sitting in 50-degree grass wet from overnight condensation, is the first physical shock of the weekend. Bring jackets. Bring hand warmers if your kid is the goalkeeper. Layered clothing matters more than you think.
Pack the sideline gear realistically. A pop-up tent for shade is useful Saturday and Sunday afternoons when the sun does come out, but a real folding chair plus a blanket is more important than a tent in February. Sunscreen if afternoon temps push above 70. A real water bottle for the player. Snacks.
The Park Strategy for February
President’s Day weekend is one of the busier park weeks of the year. Crowd predictors rank it 8 or 9 out of 10. Multi-day Park Hopper tickets for a family of four during this week run $560 to $780 depending on the day count.
Most soccer families do one park day, not three. The first Disney tournament is the experience; the second is the calendar habit. If you have done this before, you already know the answer is one park day.
If you do one park day, picks for President’s Day weekend specifically:
EPCOT in the late afternoon and evening. International Festival of the Arts runs through President’s Day weekend. The booths in the World Showcase serve small plates and themed cocktails. Crowds thin after 6:00pm, the temperature is comfortable, and the fireworks at 9:00pm cap the night well. Buy a half-day ticket after 2:00pm at a discount.
Magic Kingdom on Monday after games. If your team is out by Sunday afternoon, Monday is the realistic park day. Arrive at rope drop, target one side of the park, ride five or six rides in three hours and call it a day. Genie Plus is worth it for this specific weekend because rides are sold out by 10:00am without it.
Animal Kingdom early morning. Lightest crowds of the four parks during this weekend. Avatar Flight of Passage is the headliner. Get there for rope drop, ride Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey, then leave by lunchtime. The afternoon temperatures spike during the few warm February days.
Hollywood Studios is the skip. Most stressful park during this weekend, most aggressive crowds, headliner rides (Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway) require Genie Plus Lightning Lanes that sell out by 9:30am on a President’s Day Sunday.
If parks are not the move, alternatives within 30 minutes of the complex are Crayola Experience at the Florida Mall ($25 per person, indoor, weather-proof), Andretti Indoor Karting in Orlando ($35 for an unlimited pass), Volcano Bay at Universal ($90 per person but only open if temperatures are above 70), and the Mall at Millenia for the rainy-afternoon backup.
What Parents Pay Beyond the Hotel
The line items that surprise first-timers.
Spectator gate fee. Disney charges per-spectator admission for the showcase events. President’s Day weekend typically runs $25 to $40 per person per day, with the option of a $90 all-event multi-day pass. A family of four watching three days of games clears $300 in just the gate fee. The fee is collected at the gate, cash or card, wristband attached. Kids under 4 are free.
Parking. $20 per car per day at the complex, unless your hotel package includes a tournament parking credit. Stay at a Disney resort and take the bus, you pay nothing. Stay off-property and drive in daily, $60 across the weekend.
Photo and game-action packages. Disney’s preferred imaging partner sells team photo bundles ($65 to $110) and game-action photo packages ($45 to $80 per game). Optional. The marketing is aggressive on-site. The quality is fine but a parent with a phone on the sideline produces almost-as-good results.
Team gift bag and merchandise. Each rostered player gets an included Disney-branded gift (a water bottle, drawstring bag, hat, the exact contents change year to year). Optional merchandise (Disney-branded jerseys, hoodies, championship rings for finalists) is sold at the merchandise tent. Budget $40 to $90 if you plan to buy anything beyond the included gift.
Airport parking and rental car. If you drive to your home airport and fly into MCO, factor in long-term airport parking ($15 to $25 per day) and a rental car at MCO if you do not stay on Disney property. A mid-size car for the weekend is $200 to $300. Skip the rental car entirely if you stay on property and use Disney transportation.
Per-person all-in budget estimate for a family of four flying in from a major US city. Three nights at Pop Century, no park add-on, one sit-down dinner at Disney Springs, all other meals quick-service or in-room:
- Flights for four: $700 to $1,400
- Hotel (3 nights): $570 to $750
- Per-spectator gate fees (3 days x 2 adults + 1 sibling): $225 to $320
- Food and snacks: $400 to $600
- Disney Springs dinner: $180 to $250
- Pop Century daily essentials and gift bag extras: $100 to $150
- Player’s share of the team entry fee: $90 to $140
- Total without parks: $2,265 to $3,610
- Add one park day: $200 to $250 per person, so $800 to $1,000 for a family of four.
Tips From Families Who Have Done This Multiple Times
The repeat-parent takeaways.
Book the cheapest Value resort the morning the housing block opens. Pop Century or All-Star Sports. By the time you check in late Friday, the room is a place to sleep and shower. You are not spending waking hours there.
Skip the Park Hopper. Buy a single-park single-day ticket for one off-day instead. Saves $200 to $300 per person and the kid is too tired to enjoy two parks in one day anyway.
Bring a real folding chair. The sideline seating at the championship fields is limited and the morning grass is wet. A camp chair with a built-in shade canopy is the upgrade your back will thank you for after three days of games.
Pay the gate fee on Day 1 and confirm whether it covers all event days. Some years the fee is per-day, some years it is an event-wide wristband. Ask at the welcome center on Friday during check-in to know which version applies this year.
Pack snacks and a cooler. On-site food is overpriced and the Saturday morning lines are slow. Granola bars, electrolyte mix, fruit, a few water bottles in a cooler saves $40 per day per kid.
Plan one team dinner, not three. Coordinating a meal for 18 families across three nights takes work. Pick one night (usually Saturday) and let everyone do their own thing the other two. Wine Bar George at Disney Springs is the most consistent group pick.
Treat Monday as a buffer day, not a guaranteed park day. If your team makes the final, Monday is a soccer day. If your team loses out on Sunday, Monday is a travel-home day or a low-effort pool day at the resort. Either way, do not book flights out before 5:00pm Monday.
Buy the team photo package only if it is a milestone year. First Disney trip, 8th grade tournament, senior year before college, last team event together. Skip it otherwise.
Watch the Sunday weather forecast Friday morning. If a cold front is coming through Sunday, request your Sunday games be moved earlier in the day during Friday check-in. Tournament directors will accommodate when they can.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the tournament held on President’s Day itself? Yes. Monday February 16, 2026 is President’s Day. Finals and consolation games run Monday morning and early afternoon. Most teams wrap by 2:00pm.
Can my family fly in Friday and out Monday night? Yes, the standard pattern. Most teams arrive Friday for the optional check-in, play through the weekend, fly out Monday evening or Tuesday morning. MCO outbound flights after 5:00pm Monday have more availability than the lunchtime block when parks-trip families are leaving.
What’s the difference between showcase and tournament divisions? Showcase teams (U15 through U19) play three matches across the weekend with no standings, no bracket play, no trophy. The format is built for college coaches to watch teams without the pressure of bracket advancement. Tournament-division teams (U9 through U14, plus some U15 to U17 that opt in) play pool games Saturday and Sunday, with semifinals and finals on Monday. Trophy weekend.
Do guest players need their own US Club Soccer pass? Yes. Guest players must be added to the official roster by the add deadline (typically one week before the event) and must have a current US Club Soccer pass or equivalent from a recognized federation. Coordinate with your team manager early in January if you have a guest situation.
Can I bring a stroller or wagon for younger siblings? Yes. The complex is a long walk between fields on the championship side. A wagon for kids under 7 is standard and welcomed. Strollers fine too.
What happens if my kid gets injured during a game? Disney maintains an on-site athletic training tent at the complex staffed by AdventHealth. Minor injuries (sprains, cuts, dehydration) are handled there. Anything that needs imaging or stitches gets referred to AdventHealth Celebration ER, about 15 minutes by car.
Can we leave the complex between games? Yes. The spectator wristband is good for re-entry all day. Most families head to the hotel or off-property for lunch between Sunday games. Allow 30 minutes minimum for traffic back to the complex.
What is the dress code for spectators? None official. Functional: layered clothing for the cool mornings, sunscreen for the warm afternoons, comfortable shoes for the walks between fields, no metal cleats inside the welcome center.
Are dogs allowed at the complex? Service animals only. No pets at Disney’s sports complex during competitive event weekends.
The Bottom Line
Disney President’s Day is the biggest weekend on the youth soccer calendar from a team-count perspective. The complex is in the top tier of US youth sports facilities. The brackets are competitive, the showcase divisions are the real recruiting draw for older teams, and the weekend doubles as a working short-vacation in Orlando.
Cost is real. Plan $3,400 to $5,200 all in for a family of four if you keep park add-ons modest. Plan closer to $5,800 if you do two park days and any merchandise.
If your kid’s team got the invite and you are wondering whether to go: most families say yes the first time. Some say yes every year. The first trip is the experience. The second is whether you want it to be a calendar habit.
For the venue itself (field layout, history, year-round context, the multi-sport campus), see our ESPN Wide World of Sports soccer guide. For the May version of the same event, see Disney Memorial Day Soccer 2026. For hotel block tips and the logistics breakdown that applies across all three Disney soccer weekends, see Disney Tournament Weekend Without Losing Your Mind.