Just listed on Facebook Marketplace: Two dozen animatronics from a soon-to-be closed N.J. dinosaur park
Field Station: Dinosaurs, located in Bergen County, recently listed nearly 30 animatronic prehistoric creatures online, hoping to find them a good home.
Been debating on whether to finally add that 40-foot T-Rex to your front lawn?
Well, now’s probably the time to jump.
Field Station: Dinosaurs, the dinosaur-themed park in North Jersey’s Bergen County set to close in November, recently listed two dozen of its animatronic attractions on Facebook Marketplace. Everything from the lifesize Stegosaurus ($1,260) to the horned-headed Triceratops ($2,230) to the genuinely frightening T-Rex ($2,700).
The long-necked 75-foot Apatosaurus ($2,860), a late Jurassic Period herbivore would require serious backyard real estate. And don’t sleep on the soaring Pterodactyls Pteranodon ($850), a flying reptile with a 20-foot wingspan and gaping maw.
Made of steel, rubber, and foam and listed in “fair” to “slightly-used” condition, the marketplace ads join the “For Sale” signs plunked in front of some of the prehistoric creatures.
In May, park founder Guy Gsell announced that his park, located in Leonia since 2016, would close Nov. 9. Before the announcement, the park had been trying to raise $25,000 to operate as a nonprofit.
“The finances of the park had become problematic and the lease was up — it was just time,” Gsell said Friday in an interview. He’s trying to find good homes for the dinos, he said. Since listing them last Thursday, he has been flooded with calls from everywhere, he said.
“Apparently people all over the country want dinosaurs,” Gsell said, with a laugh. “We’ve gotten calls from museums and zoos and rich weirdos who just want them for their yard.”
He hasn’t sold any yet, Gsell said. But only because he is prioritizing public institutions that would display the animatronic creatures.
“Preferably one that could keep the pack together,” he said.
Gsell said he is trying to find good ones for them — and is accepting offers. And he did have some fun with the listings.
The Stegosaurus, for example, is “house-broken,” he points out. The juvenile Triceratops “loves kids.” And despite their terrifying mien, the T-Rex has been quite “well-loved.” Sadly, the Pterodactyls Pteranodon does not come with a cage, he jokes.
Each dino comes with a control box and speaker, so the neighbors, too, can delight in their prehistoric roars.
It’s bittersweet selling the dinos, Gsell said.
“I know this sounds ridiculous,” he said. “But we really want to find them a good home.”