Where to stay near ESPN Wide World of Sports comes down to one choice: four to six hotel rooms at $200 to $350 a night each, or one house 15 to 25 minutes from the fields. For a team, the house wins. Vacation rentals near ESPN Wide World of Sports put everyone under one roof with a kitchen, a washer for the uniforms, and parking for the carpool.
The four tournament weeks that fill Kissimmee’s large homes first. Dates from organizer schedules, October 2026.
First, Check Whether Your Team Has to Stay in a Hotel
Usually it doesn’t, which surprises most parents. Sports team accommodation in Orlando is sold as hotel blocks, so everyone assumes a block is required. The rules are looser than the sales emails suggest.
Disney Soccer says it in writing on its planning pages: no stay-to-play requirement. Varsity Spirit’s Stay Smart program does force hotel bookings at some championships, but it excludes every event held at Walt Disney World, which opens The Summit, the D2 Summit and the UCA and UDA school nationals to any family that would rather have a kitchen. The hotels near ESPN Wide World of Sports in those packages are good hotels. They’re just optional.
One caution before you decide where to stay near ESPN Wide World of Sports on your own: some gyms house the athletes together through a team package even when parents can book anywhere. Ask your coach before you put a deposit down.
| Organizer | Housing rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Disney Soccer (Showcases, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Season Kickoff) | No stay-to-play. Disney Sports Travel packages are optional. | Book anywhere. |
| Varsity Spirit (The Summit, D2 Summit, UCA and UDA nationals) | Stay Smart housing requirement excludes Walt Disney World events. Packages are optional. | Book anywhere. Confirm the athlete package rule with your gym. |
| USASF (The Cheerleading Worlds, The Dance Worlds) | Hotel packages offered. No published rule for families. | Families can stay off-site. Confirm with your gym. |
| AAU (Boys Basketball World Championships) | No stay-to-play found. | Book anywhere. |
| Pop Warner | Required housing, but the championships moved to Charlotte for 2025 and 2026. | Not at the complex this season. |
Vacation Rentals Near ESPN Wide World of Sports, Ranked by Drive Time
The complex sits at 700 S Victory Way, on the south edge of Disney property where Osceola Parkway meets the resort. We manage over 100 vacation homes across 20+ resort communities around Kissimmee, and we measured every drive below from one of our own homes to the Victory Way entrance in light traffic. Add 5 to 10 minutes for a 7 a.m. call time, and more if competition hair happens before the car leaves.
| Community | Miles | Drive | What we have there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windsor Hills | 5.5 to 6 | 15 to 16 min | Closest community we manage. 3-bedroom condos up to 6-bedroom homes. Lagoon pool and water slide. |
| Emerald Island | 7 | 19 min | Guard-gated. 3 to 7 bedrooms. |
| Windsor Palms | 7 | 19 min | Quiet streets. 3 to 6 bedrooms. |
| Encore Resort at Reunion | 7.5 | 17 min | 8-bedroom home with an arcade room. Encore water park access. |
| Storey Lake | about 7 | about 15 to 20 min | 3 and 4 bedroom units only. |
| Reunion Resort | about 10 | about 20 min | 3-bedroom condos. |
| Windsor at Westside | 11 | 24 min | Most of our 8-bedroom homes. Lazy river and water park. |
| Windsor Island | 12.5 | 25 min | 5 to 10 bedrooms. Newest resort amenities. |
| ChampionsGate, Solterra, Solara | about 10 to 12 | about 20 to 25 min | 6 to 8 bedrooms. |
The eight homes we’d put a team in first
Of all the vacation rentals near ESPN Wide World of Sports we manage, these are the eight we reach for when a coach calls. They’re ordered by drive time. The right one depends on how many bathrooms your group needs at 6 a.m.
| Home | Community | Sleeps | Drive | Why teams like it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disney 6BR Home with Private Pool | Windsor Hills | 12 in 6 BR, 4 baths | 15 min | Game room, lake-view patio, and the shortest drive in the set. |
| Windsor Hills Luxury 6BR Pool Home | Windsor Hills | 12 in 6 BR, 4 baths | 16 min | Two master suites for the coaches, a lanai that seats the whole team for dinner. |
| 4BR Disney Villa with Game Room | Windsor Hills | 7 in 4 BR, 4 baths | 15 min | Single level, a bathroom per bedroom, pool table, parking for 3 cars. The one-family pick. |
| Themed 8BR with Custom Game Room | Encore Resort at Reunion | 13 in 8 BR, 7 baths | 17 min | Mario Kart and pinball arcade, two living rooms, and seven bathrooms. Seven. |
| Emerald Island 7BR Themed Villa | Emerald Island | 11 in 7 BR, 6 baths | 19 min | Four en-suites behind a guard gate, screened pool. |
| Disney Pool Home with Game Room | Windsor Palms | 10 in 6 BR, 3 baths | 19 min | Avengers game room, pool safety fence for the little siblings, no rear neighbors. |
| 8BR Home with Pool and Spa | Windsor at Westside | 12 in 8 BR, 6 baths | 24 min | Four king rooms for parents, parking for 4 cars, lazy river down the street. |
| Luxury 10BR Windsor Island Home | Windsor Island | 15 in 10 BR, 8 baths | 25 min | Five en-suites and a full roster under one roof. Worth the extra ten minutes. |
If you’re torn, start with the two homes in our Windsor Hills guide and work outward. Windsor Hills has only three homes with five or more bedrooms, so a full roster usually ends up in Westside or Windsor Island with ten more minutes in the car.
What a tournament week actually costs
Do the math per person, not per night. That’s where hotels lose.
Twelve people in hotels near ESPN Wide World of Sports means four rooms at $200 to $350, so $800 to $1,400 a night before anyone has eaten, plus a coach walking the corridor at 10 p.m. doing bed checks. The same twelve in a 6-bedroom Windsor Hills home pay one nightly rate and split it twelve ways.
Then the kitchen starts paying for itself. Breakfast for twelve is $40 to $60 of groceries from the Publix on the way in, against $150 or more at a buffet, every morning for five nights. Book direct and you also skip the 6 to 15 percent service fee that Airbnb and Vrbo add to vacation rentals near ESPN Wide World of Sports. For a group this size, sports team accommodation in Orlando is cheaper in a house, and it isn’t close.
What one nightly rate covers when a team books a FunStay home instead of four hotel rooms.
Parking, Tolls and Getting the Team There
ESPN Wide World of Sports parking is free for most events. Admission is $19.50 for adults and $14.50 for kids aged 3 to 9 per day, and athletes and coaches get in on their credential. Details are on the complex’s Know Before You Go page.
ESPN Wide World of Sports transportation serves Disney hotel guests only. There’s no shuttle from Kissimmee or Davenport, so you drive. Plan ESPN Wide World of Sports transportation at one car for every four or five people. The homes above park three or four cars, and a rental car in Orlando costs less than a week of rideshares at $15 to $25 each way.
Osceola Parkway, the fastest route from Windsor Hills, Emerald Island and Windsor Palms, is a toll road, so add the toll pass to your rental. For ESPN Wide World of Sports parking at a 7 a.m. check-in, leave 20 minutes earlier than the drive time in the table. The lots are big and the walk to the field house is long.
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Schedule That Books Kissimmee Out
Not every event at the complex moves the housing market. These do. Read the ESPN Wide World of Sports schedule as a booking calendar: the last column is when the homes closest to the complex are usually gone.
| Dates | Event | Book by |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 27 to 29, 2026 | Disney Junior Soccer Showcase | Mid October |
| Dec 27 to 31, 2026 | Disney Boys Soccer Showcase | Early November |
| Jan 15 to 18, 2027 | Disney Girls Soccer Showcase | Late November |
| Jan 29 to 31 and Feb 4 to 7, 2027 | UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship (DII, then DI), with UDA Dance nationals the same weekends | Early December |
| Feb 13 to 15, 2027 | Disney Presidents Day Soccer Tournament | Mid December |
| Mar 12 to Apr 1, 2027 | Disney Spring Training, college and high school baseball and softball | Mid January |
| Apr 23 to 26, 2027 | The Cheerleading Worlds and The Dance Worlds | Early February |
| Apr 29 to May 2, 2027 | The Summit Championship | Early February |
| May 6 to 9, 2027 | Small Gym Summit and D2 Summit | Mid February |
| May 29 to 31, 2027 | Disney Memorial Day Soccer Tournament | Early April |
| Early July 2027 (expected) | AAU Boys Basketball World Championships | Early May |
The two cheer nationals weekends and the fortnight from Worlds through the D2 Summit are the hardest dates of the year to find a large home in Kissimmee. Bids land between November and March, so if your gym is in contention, decide where to stay near ESPN Wide World of Sports early: hold a home with a flexible cancellation window and release it if the bid doesn’t come. The Boys Soccer Showcase has a different problem: it runs between Christmas and New Year’s and competes with holiday travelers for the same houses. Book that week by early November.
What to Look for in a Team House
Count bathrooms before bedrooms. Thirteen people and three bathrooms is a 5 a.m. problem that no game room makes up for. Once the bathroom count works, check the rest when you compare vacation rentals near ESPN Wide World of Sports:
- A washer and dryer in the house. Uniforms get washed every night.
- A table that seats everyone. The 6 a.m. team breakfast happens here.
- Parking for at least three cars.
- Occupancy limits and quiet hours. Resort communities enforce both, so a team of 20 books two homes on the same street.
- Pool heat in January and February. It’s a daily fee, and worth it for sore legs.
- Self check-in, because the flight after Friday practice always lands late.
Every FunStay Homes property comes with the washer, the kitchen and self check-in as standard, and our biggest houses are in the guide to vacation homes for large groups. Where to stay near ESPN Wide World of Sports usually comes down to Windsor Hills for the shortest drive or Westside and Windsor Island for the largest homes. Our Kissimmee vs Davenport comparison covers the wider trade-offs. Check tournament-week availability and book direct with no platform fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a sports team stay off-site for tournaments at ESPN Wide World of Sports?
Yes, for most events. Disney Soccer tournaments have no stay-to-play requirement, and Varsity’s Stay Smart rule excludes events held at Walt Disney World, so The Summit, D2 Summit and the UCA and UDA nationals allow off-site stays. Confirm with your gym or club director, because an athlete’s bed is sometimes tied to a team package even when families choose where to stay near ESPN Wide World of Sports on their own.
How far is Windsor Hills from ESPN Wide World of Sports?
About 5.5 to 6 miles by road, a 15 to 16 minute drive in light traffic via Osceola Parkway. It’s the closest resort community we manage to the complex.Do you need a car to get to ESPN Wide World of Sports?
Yes, if you’re staying in a vacation home. Disney buses to the complex run only for guests of Disney hotels during events, and there’s no public shuttle from Kissimmee or Davenport. Most of our homes have parking for three or four cars.
Is there a shuttle from Kissimmee to ESPN Wide World of Sports?
No. The only shuttle service to the complex is Disney’s bus system for Disney resort guests. Vacation-home families drive, carpool, or use rideshare, which runs about $15 to $25 each way from the Kissimmee resort communities.
Can you bring a cooler into ESPN Wide World of Sports?
Yes, in outdoor venues. One personal cooler per guest and one team cooler per coach are allowed, up to 24 by 15 by 18 inches, with no glass, no alcohol and no loose or dry ice. Coolers are restricted indoors and at some separately ticketed events.
The Bottom Line for Tournament Families
For a team of 10 or more, a house 15 to 25 minutes from the complex costs less per person than four hotel rooms, feeds everyone at 6 a.m., and has the uniforms clean by morning. 100+ family vacation homes near Disney with private pools, game rooms, and full kitchens.
