The Robin train was mysteriously absent from it's station. The Batman train was still running fine. Rumors began to run rampant, "They're removing Robin to build a new coaster!", "Robin's train flew off the track and exploded!", and the most popular, "Robin is getting Lap Bars!". No one knew what to believe. Was it logical to remove an entire coaster only to put a new one up? Could the train truly de-rail and explode? We did not know for sure. But we did know one thing...two separate Premier LIM rollercoasters, the Flights of Fear at Paramounts King's Island and Paramounts King's Dominion had both received all new lap bars that season.

All of the 2001 season at SFGAdv, Robin's track sat dormant. Batman was still running in all it's glory adjacent to it, thrilling riders to the max. Rumors were getting even more out of hand, but the one stood above all else, the one that said Robin was getting lap bars. Until that one day...September 8th, 2001, Robin made it's triumphant return to the tracks.

I was there on that fateful day. And I was determined to wait in any amount of time...come hell or high water...to ride the new and improved Robin. I eventually made it into the station after about a half-hour wait. I decided to wait for the front row. Add an extra half-hour to the wait until I could ride. As I stood there, I watched as trainload after trainload of screaming, smiling passengers left and returned to the station. The anticipation was enormous! Finally, it was my turn.

I sat down and tucked my feet under the ankle bar. I looked straight ahead, and all I could see was red track curl upwards into nothingness. The perfect time to ride...9:15 PM in the pitch black abyss of night. The voice comes over the loudspeaker, "Train is locked." I pull down the ever-so-comfortable lap bar and buckle the safety belt to the side. The operators run down the side of the train, checking every bar and belt.

"Train is checked, all clear." Hands up, face forward, take that one last breath. "Launching in 3.......2.......1.......LAUNCH!" The train hauls forward to 70 mph in 2.8 seconds. My face peels back. My legs tremble. We blast out into the cold night, quickly through the observatory, over the exit path, and are suddenly roaring upwards 110 feet into a giant Cobra Roll! Twisting to the right, falling down, rising up again, and twisting back to the right, falling back down to the earth. You pass the blinding flash of the on-ride camera. Up and into the Zero-G roll! The world flips around me, and for a few seconds, I have no idea where I am. I feel something trying to rip me from the car, but remarkably, I stay put! Suddenly, we are rising up the 200 foot spike track! The LIM's give us an extra boost all the way to the top. Time now, for a reverse journey.

Back down into the mess of twisted steel, we level out and quickly rip through the Zero-G roll again! Feeling something pulling me out, but then letting go. My head is in a separate world! We reach the lowest point in the ride and suddenly start to climb up into the Cobra Roll! The earth peels away from me at a mind-numbing speed. The twist to the right, fall, rise, twist to the right again. This time, the sky peels away. We level out, and the brakes grab us.

As we re-enter the station, many riders are still screaming, some clapping, and most of all, cheering. The bars unlock, and I embark out into the world of SFGAdv again. The previous 27 seconds of life are simply the greatest you will have in New Jersey!