New Cedar Point retro coaster posters are ‘made to thrill’
Fans of Cedar Point will soon be able to collect retro-style posters of some of their favorite coasters at the Ohio theme park.
“Over the years, we’ve had many requests for different types of new product to add to our gift shops and online,” says Cedar Point director of communications Tony Clark. “One of those requests is being granted [with] all-new, one-of-a-kind poster art designed exclusively for Cedar Point by Made to Thrill.”
Created by Made to Thrill’s designer Josh Reichlin, the art deco-inspired coaster collection includes posters of eight Cedar Point coasters: Magnum XL-200, GateKeeper, Millenium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor, Maverick, Valravn, and Steel Vengeance.
“My retro-futurism influences are rooted in early memories of family vacations to theme parks in the ’80s and all of the in-park signage, collateral, and merch that went along with it,” Reichlin said. “The aesthetic reconnects me to my nostalgia for that time and harkens back to travel posters of years past while mixing it up with modern experiences. In other words, I just think it’s pretty cool and reminds me of going to places with people I care about.”
Reichlin says he started his “niche style” artwork company because the type of merchandise that resonated with him didn’t exist in park gift shops, so he created it – and now, he notes, his artwork is available in park gift shops.
When Clark asked which is his favorite from the Cedar Point coaster collection, Reichlin chose the Magnum poster.
“All of my work as Made to Thrill is predicated upon the mantra, ‘If you know, you know,’” He said. “Outside of the logos, there aren’t any visuals that inherently suggest roller coaster or theme park. If the viewer doesn’t connect with the intended subject matter, the fallback is that it’s a spaceship flying over an interplanetary structure of some kind. In turn, the artwork may appeal to a wider audience, not limited to just coaster enthusiasts but also fans of ’80s sci-fi and space travel. And then there are people like me that’d fall into all of those buckets, which is probably why I dig it the most out of the set. And it also happens to be my favorite coaster at Cedar Point, not just for the airtime, but because of what it meant for the industry.”
As a long-time coaster enthusiast, Reichlin sees his collaboration with Cedar Point as a full-circle moment.
“I’m incredibly humbled to have a small part in Cedar Point’s 150-year history, and I hope fans of the park enjoy the art as much as I enjoyed creating it,” he said.
The Made to Thrill coaster collection will be available for sale exclusively to Winter Chill Out participants at the park on Feb. 20, 2021, and will be released online on Feb. 24, 2021.
