Why I Decided to Temp at Jurassic Quest, And What I Learned

Random Opportunities

Last week, a random opportunity popped up in my email - an ad for a temp gig Friday-Sunday in Grand Island, Nebraska, about 25 miles from my home. This gig is at Jurassic Quest, an immersive experience with living, breathing, even walking dinosaurs!  I’m not usually much for temp gigs, but I am a HUGE lover of kid smiles! So, I thought why not, and I jumped in.

Two and a half really long days later, as I apply Copaiba (essential oil- more on that in a minute), I’m reflecting on my experience. First, if you need an energy boost, (and seriously, who doesn’t?) kids having fun is theeee best and quickest. Oh, my goodness - the facial expressions and the things they say when riding a 10-foot-tall dinosaur…priceless!

Stuff the Kids Said (and Didn’t Say)

Well first, practically every one of these little people has forgotten more than I’ll ever know about dinosaurs. This Jurassic thing truly is a commercial force to be reckoned with. Engage the interest of a few million kids – unlock the wallets of their parents.

The T-Rex moving, ridable model which I worked on is made of a rubber skin covered two-inch foam-rubber epidermis which covers the structure, moving parts and motors which provide its lifelike performance. Feeling the body, one little guy says, “He’s fluffy, must’ve eaten too many donuts!”.

To one 5 or so aged little guy, I said, “How does it feel being taller than your Mom & Dad?”. He smiles and nods slightly, then says, “He’s not my real Dad; my real Dad’s in prison.” That’ll stop you! All I could do is project as many mental hugs as possible in a two-minute window toward my little friend.

Another little man gave me a two-minute head scratcher. Me: “Havin’ a good day so far?” Kid: Silence, no expression. Me: “What’s the most fun thing you did so far today?” Kid: Silence, no expression. Me: “Do you have a favorite dinosaur?” Kid: Silence, no expression. Me (as we descend the stairs after the ride): “PLEASE hang on to the railings as you go down!” Kid: silence – arms robot-style straight down at his sides. And off he goes. What the…?

Nearly all of my guests were at first excited, dashing up the stairs, then tentative as they sat down atop the 10 foot tall beast, then very still as it began to move and finally (usually) filled with wonder. Watching this progression of facial expressions and physical reactions was truly fascinating!

The Work

I went in early for the open interviews, so I got to choose my job. I knew that I was picking one of the more physical jobs but thought it would be the most fun for me. Right on both counts. I got to run the Tyrannosaurus Rex ride, where the operator and the child walk up one flight of stairs to mount T-Rex, not the wildest ride but certainly the biggest. Shoulda known, T-Rex is 95% of kids’ favorite dinosaur. Hey, I’m an analyst, would you expect me not to do an informal survey?

The People

The full-time folks in charge were casual and professional, to a person. My coworkers were probably average age of 25-50, aspiring web entrepreneurs, stay-at-home moms, farm wives, etc. I didn’t meet any icky ones, although I did witness the tail end of a physical dispute between two twenty-something temp guys. The only part I saw was two of the full-time guys bear hugging them and physically carrying them a half a block apart (not these guys’ first rodeo), then Security came and escorted them to their respective cars. If you didn’t see this 5-minute interaction, you’d never know it happened. This happened well after the show concluded and those temps not staying for tear-down gathered for their pay – so the family friendly aspect was fully maintained for 100% of the show.

The Untold Story of Carnage

On one highly anticipated, but ill-fated work break, I was walking around inside the venue, the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center at Fonner Park, home of the Nebraska State Fair. I happened to look out a window and saw a sight which I’d before only seen in the continuously running CGI movie, a visual story of the life – and death – of dinosaurs. As I gazed out at a sunlight day, my gaze fell upon the dismembered and discarded body of an unfortunate dino-casualty. Except for the reinforcing internals, this carcass lay in the sun with all the realism, minus the blood, of those less hearty creatures depicted in the films.

The Physical

Yup, two little tykes call me Grandpa, and yet I chose a physically demanding temp job in exchange for a laborer’s wage for a couple of days and a massive energy infusion. And…I signed up for a few hours of extra time - with tear-down and load-out activities. Good deal? No doubt about it! 

First 60 is the new 40, just sayin’. Next, I absolutely love a challenge, physical, mental, whatever. Plus, anyone can do just about anything, for a while, with the right mindset and a dab of good sense.

For the Not-27-Anymore-But-Still-Act-Like-It Crowd

As thankfully quite often happens, I am surprised at how sore I’m not, after something like 30 hours of climbing stairs, carrying show sets, etc. I calculated approximately 907 flights of stairs climbed during that time! Yes, my Apple watch is quite proud of me too.

My wife deals in Young Living essential oils, so I dabbed a few drops of Copaiba on my low back & calves a couple of times. Miraculous stuff, minimal stiffness, ready to go again! I also practice intermittent fasting/OMAD, so my one meal a day was about 8:30PM for the last several days. I feel fantastic, no joint pain and no hunger (thanks to Keto & Bulletproof Coffee). I highly recommend this inflammation free, self-regulating-weight, type 2 diabetes killing lifestyle! And, I highly recommend living like you’re still 27 until the day you die. Side note, today I felt great going to a neighbors house, (where they're still dealing with the wreckage of my tiny town's recent "100-year flood") and mucking out their basement for a few hours, shoveling mud and carrying buckets of it out of the basement. And wouldn't you know it, a local news channel showed up again. Personally, I’d rather wear out than rust out! Just my two cents.

Would I Do It Again?

Let me tell you, I think I’ve got a FULL year’s worth of kid smiles, wonder-filled looks, funny stuff they said, and just a touch of the not-so-adorable kid’s antics. It’s been twenty some years since my kids were “2 to 12”, the age group for participating in Jurassic Quest rides and activities. I have grand-kiddos in and near this age group. I hope next time, this event comes around, I can treat them to this fun and wonder. As cool as it is for me to gaze at the photo that my wife took of my precious granddaughter at age two-ish, looking up in awe at a giraffe at the zoo, how cool would it be to see how she and her little brother react to say being nuzzled by a very lifelike “baby dinosaur” cradled in the arms of a caretaker?

So yeah, no doubt about it, I’d do this again in a heartbeat!

Bonus Track – The Numbers (for the Business Geeks among you)

OK, I’m a business strategist/analyst, so just try and stop me from analyzing this one. Here are my (very back-of-a-napkin) calculations:

• 1,500-2,000 gate attendance at smaller shows (informal Q&A w/show manager), average $30 a head = $60K/day, probably $150K total at this show.
• 40 weekends x $150K = $6M annually – per self-contained setup. This is the larger of two traveling shows.
• Half a Million in stuff – Dino’s, sets, merchandise, etc. Amortized over shall we say 5 years life-of-stuff = $100K/yr.
• Wear & tear, upkeep & repair - $125K/yr.
• 30-40 full-time-permanent workers traveling with the show – at (guessing) $45K = $1.8M/yr. (including travel???)
• 30-40 temp’s like me per 2.5-day show – I made $358 dollars cash for the weekend, so let’s say $13K/show
• Transportation – I counted eight tractor-trailers, guessing it’s ten or more total. Next show Louisville, KY. 809 miles @ $2/mile (some of it is a bit specialized) = $1,618 x 10 = $16,180 per show-to-show transport
• Venue cost – I’m swagging it at $20K for the weekend

Bottom line (remember it’s back-of-a-napkin)! $2.65M/yr.

This, unfortunately, is about the level of analysis done by a LOT of aspiring entrepreneurs before they run off and start investing resources and effort into a project. And that’s a big part of why 80% are out of business in the first 5 years! My calculations above are extremely unscientific, preliminary and probably just-plain-wrong. Also, they do not include a BUNCH of hidden costs (not included, because they’re, well…hidden, at least from me). 

I’d love to hear your take on my calculations. What did I miss, get right, etc.? Comment here or reach out to me - [email protected].