Only the nerdiest among us take our first steps into Disneyland or Universal Studios and exclaim, “What a feat of engineering!”
But maybe more of us should. Theme parks (or “themed entertainment,” for those in the know) are massive engineering endeavors, from designing and maintaining roller coasters and complex rides to developing what are essentially entire cities of people (with an insatiable hunger for turkey legs).
The complexity of these magic kingdoms has always fascinated Elizabeth Janicek and Levi Rudolph, both of whom have a lifelong love of theme parks. That’s why the University of Wisconsin-Madison juniors, both studying mechanical engineering, launched the student organization Badgers in Themed Entertainment (BiTE). Their goal is to educate fellow students about opportunities in the themed entertainment industry while developing connections and offering skills-building opportunities for members.
Janicek and Rudolph discovered their mutual passion for theme parks in ME 201, the introductory course for mechanical engineering majors. During an icebreaker session, the students talked about what they would like to do with their ME degree. Janicek mentioned animatronics; Rudolph said he wanted to build roller coasters. “I was kind of like, ‘Oh, there’s more of us out there!’” says Janicek. “So from that we decided to start a club.”
The pair recruited a few other coaster-heads as founding members and submitted paperwork for BiTE in spring 2024. When they opened the org to fellow students the following fall, it was unclear whether anyone else would show up. But they didn’t need to worry: Plenty of curious students came to their first few meetings, and interest has only grown since.
“From our founding group to our first members, everyone is so passionate about themed entertainment,” says Rudolph. “It was really refreshing to see the amount of interest for a niche industry like this.”
Now, the organization, which is open to every student at UW-Madison, has about 60 active members, including mechanical, electrical, civil, nuclear, biomedical and computer engineers as well as students from computer sciences and data science. Janicek currently serves as president.
As an organization, BiTE has two goals. Its first focus is professional development, which includes sending members to conferences and meetings within the themed entertainment industry and bringing guest speakers to campus. So far, the group has hosted talks by professionals from Disney, Universal Studios and the Wisconsin water park industry.
At the same time, the group offers a hands-on component: Members design working models of roller coasters and other rides to display at various events. In fact, they debuted a Madison-themed, pneumatic-powered mini coaster at the 2025 Engineering Expo, using it to pique interest and demonstrate roller coaster physics to middle school students. In the 2025-26 academic year, the club is working on a new coaster built to industry safety standards as well a simulated interactive underwater dark ride that includes animatronics and choreographed lighting design.
Last year, BiTE students participated in the Toronto Metropolitan University Thrill Design Competition, sponsored by Universal Creative. After participating in an open qualifying round in April and May of 2025, in which they were challenged to build a theme park ride, BiTE team advanced to the invitational competition held at the Universal Orland Resort, which included 172 students from 32 schools.
During the hackathon-style competition, the team, including Janicek and ME seniors Leo Mazzocco and Cooper Conway, had 3 days to complete a design challenge and present it to a panel of industry judges. While there are no winners in the competition, the team did receive commendations on their innovation, human-centered design, and communication. BiTE hopes to field another team for the competition this year as well.
While the mini-coasters are fun to build and are great marketing for the group, they also give students experience working with safety standards and other constraints. “We’re really trying to offer our members both professional growth and technical growth by giving them experience working on things they will encounter in this field,” says Rudolph.
He emphasizes that students in virtually any major at UW-Madison can find an applicable job in themed entertainment. “Some of these companies are growing pretty quickly; no matter what you are interested in doing, there is space for you in this industry,” he says.
That industry, says Janicek, is much larger than just a few megaparks on the coasts. She says there are opportunities on cruise ships, in tourism hot spots, and at outdoor areas that offer experiences like parasailing, bungee jumping, ziplining, mountain coasters and other attractions. Places like Wisconsin Dells, she says, have a huge need for people trained in the industry, including engineers, designers and logistics experts.
Over time, as BiTE students graduate and join the themed entertainment industry, the org’s leaders expect their network will expand and they will be able to provide members even more opportunities to engage with speakers, find internships, attend conferences and join the industry.
The big question, of course, is what do these park fanatics think is the best ride out there? For Janicek, it’s the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride in Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park in Orlando, Florida. “It’s a very new style of coaster combined with music, which obviously makes it better,” she says. “And it has a pretty good storyline. It’s an overall cool ride with awesome technology.”
Rudolph is partial to the Jurassic World-themed VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park in Orlando, which combines a compelling dino story with four inversions and a 140-foot drop. “I think it’s the most complete attraction for someone who wants a good roller coaster,” he says.