Our Guide: How to Spend Every Credit on Your Carnival Fun Pass

Having trouble using every last credit on E.K. Fernandez rides? We do the math.

February 14, 2019

Christi Young,

How to Spend Every Last Credit on Your Carnival Fun Pass

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

When E.K. Fernandez replaced ride tickets with the Fun Pass, it made visiting the carnival a math equation. Instead of passing off leftover scrip to strangers on your way home, families now keep odd number of credits on their rechargeable card. It takes a minimum of $20, or 200 credits, to get a Fun Pass. My girls tend to sway toward the 33-credit rides, meaning I always have a few credits left on the card.

The credits never expire and can be used at any carnival with E.K. Fernandez rides and attractions. So if you don’t use them all up at one fair, you can take them with you to the next. Looking at the schedule, there are plenty of opportunities—the Punahou Carnival is followed by the Mililani then the Wai‘anae carnivals. See the full list of carnivals on E.K. Fernandez’s website.

But we were wondering, what is the most efficient way to use it all? We sat down with a calculator and the price list for the upcoming Punahou Carnival to find the combinations of rides that will let you use every single credit. Also know, you can use the Fun Pass for games as another option.

Full disclosure: Math was never my strong suit. So let us know in the comments if we added wrong.

Fun Pass Facts

To get your first Fun Pass, you must load it up with a minimum of $20, which translates to 200 credits. After you receive that card, you can recharge it with $1, $5, $10 or $20 bills. But the machines do not make change (although some do take credit cards). So, if you want to add $8 to the card, you must use a $5 and three $1 bills.

There are only three combinations that will use all $20. If your favorite attractions are for younger keiki, which tend to be 33-credit rides, you will need more cash to use every credit.

For $20 you can do:

Four 50-credit rides (Scooter, Seven Seas, Super Sizzler)
Five 40-credit rides (Area 51, Balloon Race, Century Wheel, Jungle Twist, Lolli Swings, Zero Gravity)

Add $6 (a total of $26) for one 50-credit ride and six 35-credit rides.
Add $15 (a total of $33) for 10 35-credit rides (the carousel, Dizzy Dragons, Magic Maze, Rockin Tug, Speedway, Spring Ride and Super Slide)

On Discount Day, Friday, Feb. 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., all rides are either 33 or 46 credits. On this day you will have to spend more to get down to zero.