UF students use Halloween horror to master theme park design

This Halloween season, the University of Florida campus was transformed into “Camp Deer Creek,” a 1980s-themed summer camp that has been overrun by demons. 

The full-scale haunted house, set up on Norman Field from Oct. 30-Nov. 1, was the brainchild of Swamp Haunters, a student team from the Gator Theme Park Engineering and Design Club in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. The entirely student-run event offered hands-on experience for students interested in working in the theme park and live entertainment industries. 

“I think this is the most cohesive storyline we’ve made so far,” said Reilly VanderNeut, Swamp Haunters’ operations and compliance director, who helped create the haunted summer camp concept.

Swamp Haunters hosts two haunted houses at UF every year. In the spring, the group builds the first version of a themed house. After collecting feedback from this experience, the team makes improvements to the house, which runs again in the fall around Halloween. VanderNeut oversees the legal aspects of the process, ensuring the house operates safely and legally. There are three other directors who handle the creative, construction and technical aspects.

“It’s really helpful to get a glimpse into what it’s like to design something for an outside guest to come in and experience,” VanderNeut said.

The event was run primarily by engineering and architecture majors, but the group also includes fine arts, interior design and business students. The club itself is open to anyone looking to gain experience in the industry.

Originally, the club began as a conceptual team, which made mock designs without the intent of actually constructing them. Starting in Fall 2022, the club shifted into planning an actual event, and the first house opened in Spring 2023. Now the fall event typically draws between 1,000 and 1,500 guests. 

Hosting an event of this size has enabled the team to gain unique professional experience. VanderNeut, for example, has learned about the operations and compliance aspects of theme park entertainment, and she was able to transfer these skills to her role as a compliance and auditing intern at Universal Creative last summer.

“Any time I can, I’m bringing it up in an interview,” VanderNeut said. “It’s really hard work, but in the end it turns into something that’s really cool to see.”