: The park did not seem any different except for the $ 129 I paid for a six-month Florida resident pass . Disney World recently announced a major loss in income and that layoffs are expected . Sources within Disney say the layoffs could begin this week . Disney will not say how many people will be eliminated while it restructures and consolidates operations . I have not heard panic among businesses and city officials over the Disney announcement , despite the fact Disney World says it is the biggest single-site employer in the United States with 62,000 . Disney spokesman Mike Griffin said : `` We are bigger than the Pentagon . '' Disney told me cuts would be significant , affecting back office workers . Griffin said guests visiting the parks would not see any difference . Danielle Courtney , spokeswoman of the Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau , said she was sure that `` Disney will provide a value experience for their guests . '' But she said Disney is doing what every other business is doing : cutting costs . Orlando 's economic and development director , Bill Billingsley , said the city has not
Editor 's note : CNN has asked its journalists across the country to offer their thoughts on how the economic crisis is affecting their cities . In this installment , All Platform Journalist John Couwels reports from Orlando , Florida . Walt Disney World in Orlando , Florida , has announced that it will lay off employees . ORLANDO , Florida -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Orlando : What first comes to mind ? Walt Disney World or Universal resorts , perhaps ? The two parks are the nation 's biggest tourist draws . As a new resident of Orlando , I find that the tourist areas are more removed from the city than I thought . Still , some people in the area where I currently live either work or have business dealings at tourist attractions . As with every city in the United States , Orlando is dealing with the fallout of an economic slowdown . Tourism officials expect an 8 percent to 10 percent drop in tourism dollars for 2009 . Nonetheless , during a recent visit to Disney 's Magic Kingdom with my family , I experienced a packed park . My first visit in 10 years