[HN Gopher] NJ theme park puts animatronic dinosaurs on Facebook...
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       NJ theme park puts animatronic dinosaurs on Facebook Marketplace
        
       Author : ohjeez
       Score  : 123 points
       Date   : 2025-09-28 15:40 UTC (3 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (gizmodo.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (gizmodo.com)
        
       | happyllama wrote:
       | Time to start a crowdfunding effort to help buy these for the
       | Flinstone's Lady house off of 280 [1] [2]
       | 
       | [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintstone_House [2]
       | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/06/flintstone-h...
        
         | lobochrome wrote:
         | I've driven past that house a million times and always thought
         | to look it up - and always immediately forgot again.
         | 
         | Now you reminded me and I know the backstory
        
         | Animats wrote:
         | What, is that thing for sale again?
        
         | mkl wrote:
         | I don't think she needs crowdfunding:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Fang
        
           | Scoundreller wrote:
           | > In 2000, when the Hearst Corporation was facing antitrust
           | concerns (including from Fang) over its acquisition of the
           | San Francisco Chronicle, she acquired the San Francisco
           | Examiner from them for $100 while also receiving a $66
           | million subsidy from Hearst to run the Examiner for three
           | years, becoming the first Asian American to own a major daily
           | newspaper in the US.[4][7][5] In 2004, she sold it to Philip
           | Anschutz for $11 million.[7]
           | 
           | How do I get this kind of deal?
        
             | rsynnott wrote:
             | I suspect for every person who's bought a company for
             | nothing, and ended up in profit, there are _many_ people
             | who've bought a company for nothing, and ended up blowing
             | millions on it. Unless you're really good at this sort of
             | thing and/or lucky it may not be a deal you _want_.
        
               | Workaccount2 wrote:
               | The whole set of wealthy people is a small subset of the
               | tried-to-get-wealthy set.
               | 
               | Society has a hyper-fixation on the winners, and is
               | largely blind to the much larger set of losers. "School
               | of Hard Knocks", the social media channel where the kid
               | goes around interviewing wealthy and ultra wealthy
               | individuals about how they made it, has a very common
               | theme: "Be willing to take risks".
               | 
               | This pretty much translates to "I put it all on black 3
               | times, and it hit 3 times". He never interviews the
               | losers.
        
               | OkayPhysicist wrote:
               | It's not a subset, as there are plenty of people who are
               | wealthy because someone up their family tree tried and
               | succeeded at getting wealthy, and subsequent generations
               | simply failed to be in the "actively try to get poor"
               | set.
        
               | conception wrote:
               | By plenty you mean most. Class movement is generally a
               | fiction.
        
               | psunavy03 wrote:
               | The difference is that "I put it all on black 3 times" is
               | purely up to chance, whereas business is generally not.
               | There is luck involved, but skill or at least expertise
               | about what the market will support still comes into play.
               | 
               | Someone who knows what they're doing has a much greater
               | likelihood of success, unlike when you put it all on
               | black.
        
               | Workaccount2 wrote:
               | Correct, you have to work hard and know what you are
               | doing just to get a chance to sit at the table.
        
             | bluGill wrote:
             | It helps to have success. I know someone who the bank
             | called (before I was born - likely 1960s) to buy a nearly
             | bankrupt plumbing business. He turned the company around
             | and sold it for a lot of money a few years later. However
             | the banks called he has a history of success running
             | businesses. He did a similar story with a trash pickup
             | service a different time.
        
             | seanhunter wrote:
             | Most of the time when people acquire something for $1 or
             | $100 or whatever the deal includes them assuming some of
             | the existing liabilities. Sometimes you have to pay a
             | consideration of value to make the contract enforceable but
             | the $100 isn't what she's actually providing, she's
             | probably underwritten some of the creditors or agreed to
             | pay staff and suppliers or whatever. It's not actually $100
             | is the whole amount she would have been on the hook for.
        
           | fnordian_slip wrote:
           | Damn, both her Wikipedia article as well that of her as her
           | "archenemy" Rose Pak are fascinating (even though I don't
           | like either of them based on what I read).
        
             | hennell wrote:
             | I misread that as 'her "archenemy" Rosa Parks' and had some
             | concerns for a second...
        
         | tetris11 wrote:
         | Or to upgrade the existing ones at Crystal Palace park
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_Dinosaurs
        
       | Nursie wrote:
       | > Have you ever wanted to own gigantic, realistic-looking
       | dinosaurs for your backyard?
       | 
       | Yes, we have an approx 1-acre paddock next to the road that's
       | completely unused and I really want dinosaurs!
       | 
       | I don't even need them animatronic, static will do. There just
       | aren't many vendors for this sort of thing. It's a shame that
       | shipping from NJ to Western Australia is likely to be
       | prohibitive...
        
         | Buildstarted wrote:
         | Might be cheaper to ship from here
         | https://www.mcsdino.com/collections/animatronic-dinosaur
        
         | ants_everywhere wrote:
         | > There just aren't many vendors for this sort of thing
         | 
         | There's always alibaba
         | 
         | https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?SearchText=animatronic%...
        
           | SenHeng wrote:
           | I expected 2 more zeros. That's cheap!
        
             | ants_everywhere wrote:
             | yeah me too! I thought the ones on facebook marketplace
             | were cheap. It looks like they're about the same price new.
        
         | bigiain wrote:
         | You need someone to go and 3D scan them for you, then get your
         | YouTube channel big enough for a Bambu Labs sponsorship.
         | 
         | And a lot of filament. A _lot_ of filament...
        
         | defrost wrote:
         | Hey now, let's not forget the Australovenator
         | Constructed from retired tools, machine parts and farm scrap
         | collected throughout rural Western Australia.
         | 
         | ~ https://www.jordanspriggsculptures.com.au/australovenator
         | 
         | and a home ground culture that loves scrap metal* and Mig
         | welders.
         | 
         | * https://ictv.com.au/video/11144-stompem-ground-scrap-
         | metal-t...
        
           | Nursie wrote:
           | I mean that is amazing, and I would imagine fetched a fair
           | whack more than this theme park wants for its second-hand
           | animatronics!
        
       | phantom-guy wrote:
       | Guys I'm about to revolutionize my living room
        
       | userbinator wrote:
       | Sounds like something that many YouTubers will want.
        
       | shawn_w wrote:
       | The Pacific Science Center in Seattle just threw their dinosaurs
       | in the trash. At least these can go to a new home.
        
         | shermantanktop wrote:
         | The Science Center ones were reportedly in bad shape, possibly
         | beyond reasonable repair, and quite basic in their construction
         | and movement. Tail goes side to side, neck goes up and down.
         | Nothing like what a modernized version would be.
         | 
         | My kids remember them fondly but they were not amazing feats of
         | art or engineering.
        
           | potato3732842 wrote:
           | Sure, but someone will still spend a few hundo on that and
           | put it in their yard.
        
       | Animats wrote:
       | There used to be a place called "Lost World" on Highway 17 from
       | San Jose to Santa Cruz with about thirty full-scale concrete
       | dinosaurs. That roadside attraction folded in the 1970s, but the
       | dinosaurs remained for years, slowly being hidden by growing
       | foliage.[1]
       | 
       | [1]
       | https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanjosevalleyorchards/posts/...
        
         | rokkamokka wrote:
         | The link says the dinosaurs were sold and moved to southern
         | california. Anyone know where they are today?
        
       | roarcher wrote:
       | A 52-foot-long animatronic Spinosaurus for $2900? Now that's a
       | heck of a deal.
        
         | pavel_lishin wrote:
         | I was looking at buying one of these for my house, but (a) I
         | don't really have time to deal with such a purchase, and (b)
         | just transporting it back to my house would cost more than the
         | damn thing itself costs!
        
         | heavyset_go wrote:
         | Perfect fit for the 53 ft tractor trailer you have lying
         | around, too
        
         | DanielHB wrote:
         | It would probably cost more to landfill it
        
         | turbosb wrote:
         | the Spinosaurus is definitely the best deal of the bunch. If I
         | remember correctly, it was the newest one and had the most
         | articulation of the dinos.
        
       | Stratoscope wrote:
       | If you ever find yourself on Highway 101 south of Port Orford,
       | Oregon, Prehistoric Gardens is a must-visit:
       | 
       | https://maps.app.goo.gl/nncu1vYRtGoK83Rg6
       | 
       | My sister and I went there with our mom and our dachshund Bismark
       | when I was a kid. They had a "no dogs allowed" sign, but we
       | figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. The guy in the ticket booth
       | looked at Bismark and asked, "Is that a dog or a Texas flea?"
       | 
       | We found out that Texas fleas were allowed in!
        
       | shafyy wrote:
       | Sounds like something John Oliver should buy on his show
        
       | marcodiego wrote:
       | There's theme park with animatronics dinosaurs close to where I
       | live: https://alchymistprehistoricpark.com.br/o-park/
       | 
       | Their argentinosauro is Huge.
       | 
       | The perks of living in a big city.
        
         | smcin wrote:
         | Their argentinosauro may be huge, but can it dribble and score?
        
           | zacharycohn wrote:
           | There's no rule that says argentinosauro can't play
           | basketball.
        
             | smcin wrote:
             | I meant soccer. The theme park is in Fortaleza, Brazil.
        
       | neomantra wrote:
       | Wow, this isn't far from me... I will visit soon and maybe snag a
       | velociraptor! Thanks for the post!
        
       | CarVac wrote:
       | I saw this in Secaucus where it was in a pretty cool location.
       | Then it moved to the town where I lived at the time and I
       | wondered how much less interesting it would be in a flat field
       | next to the public works department.
        
       | RickJWagner wrote:
       | If only shipping were cheaper...
        
       | bluGill wrote:
       | Dinosaurs had feathers. Or at least some of them did (evidence is
       | hard to find when we mostly have bones, but a few feathers have
       | been found preserved so we know for sure some did, but that
       | doesn't mean all did). None of these do, including ones that we
       | should expect would have.
       | 
       | Those who want realism shouldn't buy these.
        
         | yawnr wrote:
         | Lol ok man
        
       | NoSalt wrote:
       | With Halloween coming up, I would LOVE to have one or two of
       | these for my front yard. The HOA would have a conniption ... LOL!
        
       | rcpt wrote:
       | FB marketplace in Los Angeles has old props and sometimes it gets
       | weird
       | 
       | https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/811783558682707/
        
         | kblissett wrote:
         | Link is NSFW by the way.
        
       | turbosb wrote:
       | Sad to see it go, I spent the summer of 2019 there maintaining
       | the dinos and repairing a lot of the controllers. It was a fun
       | experience, and I have fond memories of the people there. I'm
       | still a little tempted to buy one just for nostalgia's sake.
        
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       (page generated 2025-10-01 23:02 UTC)