Rawr! Client Jurassic Car Wash debuts Central Texas’ first coin-operated animatronic dinosaurs
Our client Jurassic Car Wash recently debuted the first coin-operated mechanical, animatronic dinosaurs in Central Texas. The two museum and exhibition quality dinos are a Styracosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex— each 12 feet long and 6 feet tall— at the wash’s location at 4809 South Congress Avenue.
View KVUE News’ coverage here, read the Austin American-Statesman’s article here, and keep reading to learn all the dino-mite details about the latest attraction at Jurassic Car Wash.
The realistic dinosaurs come alive with sound for more than two full minutes when 75 cents (quarters only) is deposited. When activated, the dinosaurs open and close their mouths in synchronization with loud roars, thrash their heads and tails from side to side, move their chests up and down to simulate breathing, and blink their red-toned eyes.
The coin-activated dinosaurs operate seven days a week, 24 hours a day (the same as Jurassic Car Wash itself). There are 16 security cameras and four large LED lights on the premises to keep the facilities safe and secure after dark.
The T-Rex and Styracosaurus weigh around 300 lbs. each and were manufactured to look as much like their extinct counterparts as possible— with accurate colors, proportions, and detailing.
The two coin-operated dinos are located in the back of the car wash premises behind a chain link fence, suspended over a retention pond for maximum visibility and safety. There is also a third stationary dinosaur in the retention pond, a Velociraptor hatching from an egg.
Owner of Jurassic Car Wash and longtime entrepreneur John Borek set out to make his car wash “fun and different with a dash of Austin weird”—unlike the other car washes all over town.
Borek has always been a big fan of eclectic yard art, but when he installed two mechanical dinosaurs at his house for Halloween (the same two that are now coin-operated at the wash), the creatures weren’t well received. The neighborhood association’s law firm sent a threatening letter demanding they be removed, and this sparked Borek’s idea for Jurassic Car Wash. You could say the rest is history— Jurassic history!
Jurassic Car Wash also features three other animatronic dinosaurs that come alive regularly and for free: a giant T-Rex that squirts water on cars as they enter the automatic wash tunnel, and a Pterodactyl on the roof and a Dilophosaurus on the building that come alive on the hour and half hour daily between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“I wanted my car wash to be an entertaining one-stop shop for families,” says Borek. “It’s about amusing people and making them smile.”
For more information, visit http://jurassiccarwash.com/. For real-time updates, visit Facebook.com/JurassicCarWash and Instagram.com/JurassicCarWash.
