How to Save Money and Actually Enjoy Chuck E. Cheese's

Oh sure, kids can be kids at Chuck E. Cheese's, but few other restaurants cause an adult to groan at the mere mention of the name. It doesn't necessarily have to be this way, though. If you time it right, it can be almost as much fun for you!

Before You Go
There are almost always coupons and free tickets to be found online. First, visit the Chuck E Cheese's website, where you should be able to win some free tickets. Click on Chuck E-Games, and you should be able to find at least one game you'll be able to play in order to win free tickets.

The current game (above) is Chuck E Blocks. Play the game (it shouldn't be too hard), print out your winnings, and take the sheet with you to the store.

You'll also want to check RetailMeNot for other coupons. Many times, you will find printable coupons for extra tokens here.

I have used some of the coupons listed here, and they have worked every time for me!

When to Visit
This can really make or break your CEC experience. Bar none, go as early as possible, preferably on a weekday. There are 3 really important reasons for this:

1. Everything is nice and clean, and probably germ-free.
2. There aren't many people there (you'll probably be the only ones there, if you get there early).
3. If you get there early, Monday - Friday, you have an excellent chance of getting A LOT of free tickets! This is what makes the CEC experience fun for me, as an adult. There's no denying: it feels great to get a bargain! My local CEC opens at 9 each day. If I get there between 9 and 10, we're usually the first there. The lucky CEC staff that open the shop also get to test each and every game, and...they leave the tickets in each game for you to take! 

The employees test the Ticket Muchers, too, so don't forget to check those! On our most recent visit, we got 395 free tickets, before we paid a single dime for a token! Surprisingly, we got there at 10:30, 1 1/2 hours after they opened.

So, by the end of the day, this is what we took home, for only about $15!

How awesome is that? Yes, I realize the retail value of all of this is only about $6 (at most), but it's hard to put a dollar value on something as awesome as a man-sized mechanical mouse that sings to your daughter every hour on the 30!