This was actually one of my favorite places we visited, but because we got here so late and didn't have time to do much and a kind of attitude like comment from a worker, it gets 4 stars. I could see it easily getting 5 stars though. We visited briefly at the end of a long day, with our three kids, ages 10-13 on a Tuesday evening. We lucked out big time with parking and got street parking right in front of the boardwalk next to the $20 parking lot, with a space where the meter was already fully paid---score!
Driving into Santa Cruz was a mix of cute and kind of shady so we weren't sure what to expect at the boardwalk, but while on the boardwalk, we felt safe. We did not bring electronics with us that day and took anything of value with us out of the car. No one bothered us, but there were a few shady characters walking around, but, again, not on the boardwalk itself.
I don't like trying to figure out points and how much of a card to get for what rides etc at a ticket counter so I looked at all the rides the night before, determined what would be favorites and what would be maybes and calculated what we needed to buy ahead of time--for us it was $150/150 points. Unfortunately, I forgot rides closed at 9, but we missed just one. I thought we were going to leave with money unspent, but then remembered you can use your points in arcade, and while there discovered, you could also use them to play the carnival games. My husband really loved the Big Dipper Coaster. My son and I who are not coaster people really liked the Tsunami. We all rode the sky ride...felt way higher than it looked and I constantly felt like I was going to lose a flip flop, but still cool views. The Cave Train was a relaxing, quirky, silly ride we did together. Once rides closed, we played a few carnival games, grabbed 1 souvenir a piece and went on our way. We did not have time to eat anything so I cannot comment on the food.
I would definitely visit here again if in the area and stay a bit longer. I'm not a big ride person and wasn't sure what to expect. The 2 story arcade area we walked thru looked very cool and the boardwalk with amusement rides and multiple food stands in all the same area was really cool and one of the best of its kind we visited. Although I don't like calculating points, for a quick trip, I do like the flexibility of only paying for what you want to ride/do. It can be more expensive this way at times, but worked for a short visit. All day bands are available too.
All of us enjoyed it and wished we had a bit more time here.