Needle Replaces Sphere in Disney Resort Plan : Design: Round ‘Spaceship Earth’ gives way to a single, pointed shaft as the focal point of Westcot theme park. The change, which comes shortly before the start of hearings on the project, may mollify critics who thought the sphere too imposing.

For the proposed Westcot theme park, it’s goodby to the 300-foot sphere and hello to the Big Needle.

Walt Disney Co. designers have abandoned the notion of building a giant, rotund “Spaceship Earth” like the one at Epcot Center in Florida as the centerpiece of their new amusement park.

The latest plan replaces the sphere with a single, pointed shaft that designers say would be futuristic, yet unobtrusive.

The plans were presented to crowds of Anaheim residents at a Wednesday night pep rally intended to bolster support for the proposed $3-billion resort, to include hotels, restaurants and stores. The rally, which drew about 3,000 people, was sponsored by a local support group touting jobs and tourist dollars. It came as the project faces public hearings starting next week that are sure to include concerns about traffic congestion, noise and pollution.

By eliminating the globe, however, Disney may mollify some local critics who feared that the icon would dominate the Anaheim skyline. Tony Baxter, senior vice president of Disney’s Imagineering design division in Glendale, said there was concern within Disney that the giant sphere might spoil the views from such Disneyland-themed areas as the turn-of-the-century Main Street.

“By going to the slender shape you see, it’s almost invisible from Disneyland,” he said.

The yet-unnamed needle would literally be the focal point within the internationally themed Westcot park, which would be situated on what is now Disneyland’s parking lot.

The idea, Baxter said, is to create villages representing the four corners of the world--the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe--all looking toward an idealistic future: the needle. In a departure from past plans, as many as 1,000 guest rooms would be woven into the amusement park in three hotels in addition to those already announced. That way, guests could spend a night in an ersatz Taj Mahal or pagoda, as if they were in a foreign land.

The three previously announced hotels would be scaled down, and the total number of rooms at the resort would remain at a maximum of 5,600. They would be on the west side of West Street, which would be renamed Disneyland Drive.

An amphitheater that had been planned for Harbor Boulevard would be moved to the center of the project. It would be on a lake that would separate the areas of the world from the needle.

Underneath the needle would be a learning and entertainment center, featuring rides and attractions about life, nature and science. The nature section, for instance, would have one of the nation’s largest saltwater aquariums.

The park would have fewer thrill rides than Disneyland, although the Asian quarter would have a roller coaster in the shape of a dragon. The park would be connected by a 45-minute ride through the various lands, with stops every nine minutes, Baxter said.