Best Ways to Get MORE Tickets & Tokens at Chuck E Cheese

These are both tried and true and a little bit quirky ways for your kids to get more tickets when they visit Chuck E Cheese!  We have been visiting Chuck E Cheese for over 30 years and brought together some of our best secrets for getting more fun and prizes on each visit.

This post was written in partnership with Chuck E Cheese, as a part of the Chuck E Champions ambassador program.  My family has been frequenting Chuck E Cheese for more than 30 years and I am super excited to pass on some of our best secrets to you today! Disclaimer: Deals and incentives can vary in different markets and change at any time.  Check with your local store or the Chuck E Cheese website to verify promotions in your area.

The tickets at Chuck E Cheese are almost as iconic as the establishment itself.  Most parents have memories of trying to get just 22 more tickets so that you could cash it all in for the prize of your dream.  It is no different today as our kids are now learning the fundamentals of spending tokens, earning tickets and counting them out to get the prize they have been eyeing since the moment they walked in.

There is a prize for everyone since it ranges from just a few tickets on the bottom rows, to eye catching prizes costing thousands of tickets displayed for all to see up on the wall.  And if we are candid, no one wants the bottom row…. every kid has their heart set on something a little bigger.  So today we are going to dive into some of the best ways for your kids to rack up a few or even thousands more tickets and tokens on their visit to Chuck E Cheese.  Some of these are well known, and a few are a pretty nicely kept secret, but all of them should net you some extra tickets to cash in at the end of your visit.

1.  The Chuck E Cheese Dance– If you have been to Chuck E Cheese lately, you probably already know about the dance, but if you haven’t let’s catch you up!  Approximately every 30 minutes Chuck E Cheese will make a live appearance in the restaurant to lead the kiddos in a fun choreographed dance. Think Cupid Shuffle, Chuck E Cheese style.  Then at the end Chuck E throws handfuls of tickets in the air for the kids to grab and keep for prizes.  Not only is it fun, even for the smallest children, but the kids are super excited about getting extra tickets.
   
2.  Incentive Sheets – This is one of the best kept secrets around!  The Chuck E Cheese website has over 20 different reward charts you can print out to use as a reward or incentive for a visit to Chuck E Cheese.  There is everything from daily chores, to reading, to table manners, to no nose picking and potty training so whatever stage you are in with your kids, there is something to reward them with.  Each incentive sheet is worth 10 free tokens once you fill it up and get it checked off by mom and dad. You can find the incentive sheets for free download here.
3. Receipts– I have a tendency to just grab the receipt after I pay and stuff it in my bag as I am running wildly after the kids.  This is a huge mistake at Chuck E Cheese though!  Chuck E Cheese will frequently use the bottom of the receipt to give you an offer or reward for a survey.  On our recent visit, the bottom the the receipt offered us 100 tickets for completing the survey.  I also have heard of coupons for a free ticket blaster experience when you purchase a combo which is a super awesome treat that can result in up to many hundreds of extra tickets.
4. Promotional Offers– Chuck E Cheese frequently has promotional offers going on to celebrate or raise awareness for events.  Right now they are celebrating 40 years and have a pull off game on all large drink cups.  We had three cups on our visit and 2 of them won 40 bonus tickets!  You can see what promotional activities you can look for on the deals and offers section of the Chuck E Cheese website.
5. Birthday Parties– I feel like a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese is a right of passage.  I still remember having mine there as a kid, and all of my kids have begged to have one of their own there too.  Birthday parties can be one of the most “lucrative” ways to get extra tickets!  We just hosted my sons party there and had an absolute blast!  You might have seen all the fun we had on my Instagram story, but if not let me tell you, eleven 7 year old boys have never had so much fun.  Here are some of the ways you can grab extra tickets and tokens at your party:
   • Ticket Blaster Experience – Regardless of the level of the party, each birthday kid gets to go in the ticket blaster and catch as many as they can.  Aim for the big monopoly money sized papers which are certificates for 10-50 extra tickets and there are also super papers worth 500 tickets!
     
   • Booking your party- We were able to get 20 extra tokens just for booking our party online.  Also, if you book on certain days of the week you can be eligible for 100 bonus tokens!
   • Party Package level – 3 out of the 4 party packages available offer the birthday kid a bonus 1000 extra tickets!  Make sure to keep an eye out for that perk
     
   • Pinata- We booked the Mega Super Star package and I am so glad we did!  I was waffling a bit with weather we needed it or could go with one of the lower packages, but every detail from the food to the goodie bags being taken care of was well worth it for me.  The kids favorite perk though was the Pinata!  They went nuts over this thing!  It isn’t a traditional piñata you hit, but instead has strings on the bottom that the kids take turns pulling off until the bottom gives out and you are showered with tickets and tokens.  Like I said they loved it!  The Pinata was packed with 400 tickets and 40 tokens and when they came pouring out, it was like Christmas morning!
     
6. Go at opening– This is a very unofficial tip, but I think it is worth mentioning.  We have started frequenting Chuck E Cheese on weekday mornings when they open at 11 for their lunch buffet.  It is super affordable with the buffet costing just a few dollars for older kids and kids under 3 eating for free and they can play and graze for as long as you need to fill up the day.  The trick we learned though was that many mornings when we arrive right at opening they are going around to each machine, sticking in a token to make sure it works and then moving on to the next machine.  While the employee moves on, the game runs it’s course and then spits out some tickets.  At our Chuck E Cheese they leave the tickets there for what ever lucky kids come along and grab them as they are playing.  Although I am not sure if this is the case at every Chuck E Cheese in the nation, it certainly makes sense why they do it, and for us, it is a great way to start the trip off with some excitement!
7. All you can play card– In certain markets (about 230 of their locations) Chuck E Cheese does an all you can play card on Wednesdays, which gives you unlimited play for a one hour period.  This is awesome if you have older kids that can blast through some tokens like no one’s business.  Check with your local store to see if you have this available in your area.  There is also a 2 hour all-you-can-play adder for the Mega/VIP birthday packages which would be really awesome!
8. Weekday Specials– Check online or call to see if your local stores have any special weekday specials.  Currently ours has a deal where you can get 400 tickets on Mondays with the purchase of a specified play package.
   
9. Chuck E Cheese Email Club– Get the best deals and coupons sent to your inbox by signing up for the Chuck E Cheese newsletter.  When you sign up you will get a discount coupon for 30% off of the lowest price play packages and 10 free tokens for play! Plus any new deals and promos get sent out by email so you are always in the know!
10. Bring in a report card– Chuck E Cheese will give you 10 free tokens just for bringing in your report card (with a food purchase.)  There are no restrictions that say the grades have to be A’s, so as long as you feel like your kids deserve to be rewarded for their grades, then Chuck E Cheese will give them their tokens.
11. Online & Newspaper coupons– Chuck E Cheese markets pretty widely through print adverstising.  Check your local paper inserts, ads, and mailers for coupons that give you bonus tokens with purchase.  If you can’t find them in print, you can always print your own from the Chuck E Cheese website here!

And there you have my best secrets for getting the most out of your visit to Chuck E Cheese with MORE tickets and MORE tokens for MORE fun for your kiddos!  I hope this helps you have a little more fun with your kids on your visit.  And if you know any tips or tricks I missed, please leave them in the comments below!  I would love to hear!