Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Trip Report
August 3, 2008
Among the other major non-coaster attractions are the flumer, here called the Logger's Revenge.
It's most notable for the fact that almost everything 'cept the lift and the final hill is completely elevated. But it's also got a very nicely themed station, too.
And anchoring the other end of the boardwalk is a 125-foot-tall S&S Double Shot. Another awesome way to check out the beauty of the ocean from way up in the clear, blue sky.
Bouncy-bouncy!
And if you want to chill a bit, or just get out of the sun, there's the big Neptune's Kingdom amusement center at the Double-Shot end of the 'walk. This used to be the old Plunge indoor swimming pool building, but after it took at big hit during the 1989 earthquake, the park spend a pretty penny to turn it into a miniature golf/arcade/laser tag/shop and food emporium.
The Buccaneer Bay mini-golf course is pirate-themed, natch, and it's multi-leveled.
At one of the entrances to Neptune's Kingdom, you'll find a nifty relic of amusement history, a surviving Laffing Sal. Sold by the Philadelphia Tobaggan Company, this pre-animatronic figure was used as a huckster for fun houses, dark rides, and coasters at amusement parks around the country, starting in the 1930s. According to the signs next to her, nearly 300 of these endlessly guffawing figures were manufactured, and this particular model did duty at San Francisco's old Playland at the Beach. (For a comprehensive history, check out this great article at Laff In The Dark.)
One of the few upcharge attractions is this spooky walk-through, the Fright Walk. It's five bucks on its own, but just four if you do the POP thing.
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