ANAHEIM : Latest Westcot Plan Unveiled by Disney

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 the giant, rotund “Spaceship Earth” like the one at Epcot Center in Florida as the centerpiece of their new amusement park.

Instead, the latest plan unveiled Thursday 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 pep rally Wednesday night intended to bolster support for the proposed $3-billion resort, including hotels, restaurants and stores. The rally, sponsored by a local support group touting jobs and tourist dollars, comes as the project faces public hearings starting Wednesday 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.

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.