Former Orlando councilor: Disney World's arrival and tourist tax built modern Orlando

In an oral-history interview with his brother and host Robert Stewart, George Stewart Jr. said the opening of Disney World in October 1971 was the defining moment that set modern Orlando's development trajectory. "I think for modern Orlando history, I think it goes back to the opening of Disney World," he said, linking the park's arrival to a rapid reorientation from a citrus-based economy to a tourism and hospitality center.

George argued the tourist development tax and sustained downtown leadership together financed civic projects — new city hall, fire stations, and infrastructure — and helped build the hotel capacity and transit needed to host large conventions. He singled out downtown development efforts starting in the early 1970s and later decades of tourism-related investment as the two forces that "carried us all the way to today."

The conversation included examples of civic coordination: local banks and developers supporting hotel financing, a downtown development board and a redevelopment agency, and long-term business leadership that pushed for revitalization. George credited leaders in both the tourism and downtown development sectors for creating the conditions that allowed Orlando to host events such as Rotary International and the World Chamber of Commerce.