Don’t Pay Full Price Admission to the Texas State Fair

The Texas State Fair opens this weekend. Get your wallets ready. This year, admission is $16. Senior citizens and children age three up to 48 inches are $12 each. Children 2 and under are free.

I used to cringe when my son would ask what day we were going to the fair. I didn’t even want to think about the money I would have to spend just to get in, not to mention rides and food. The good news is there are lots of ways to save money at the Texas State Fair.

Free Admission

Children who attend public school in Texas usually receive a free ticket to the fair. Ours come home a day or two before our scheduled fair day holiday from school. Be sure to look at the date on those tickets. Often, they are only good for your school district’s scheduled fair day.

Every Thursday during the state fair, you get free admission with a Cinemark movie ticket stub.

Get in free on Thursday, Oct. 11 by wearing any item of clothing with a Dickies logo. (This is the Dickies clothing line and not the barbecue franchise.)

Senior citizens age 60 years and up get free admission every Thursday.

Canned Food Discount Admission

Any Wednesday, pay only $2 for admission when you bring three canned goods. They will be donated to area food banks.

More Admission Discounts

Opening day and Thursdays – bring a 20 oz. bottle of water (full and unopened) or any other 20 oz. Coca Cola product and get in for $6.

Tuesdays – get in for $5 when you bring an empty Dr. Pepper can.

Any day – pay $8 for admission after 5 p.m. when you bring an empty Dr. Pepper can.

Buy tickets online and save $1.05 each.

Buy tickets at Kroger at save $1.50 per ticket or save $10 on season passes. Kroger also sells a DART combo ticket, which includes general admission to the fair and round trip transportation on DART. Combo tickets are only available at Kroger.

Discounts on Midway Rides

Every Tuesday, most rides are half price. That makes most of them five tickets or $2.50 each. It’s still expensive, but it beats $5 a ride. Before you even head out to the fair, set a ride spending limit. Once it’s reached, the rides are over for the day. This will save you a lot of grief and will help the kids make wise decisions on which rides they really want to experience.

How much can you really save? Last year, I saved $29 just on admission with my son’s free ticket and an empty Dr. Pepper can. You can do it.

Remember, Texas State Fair Coupons NEVER expire. If you still have some from last year, use them. If you can’t use all the ones you buy this year, hold on to them for next year. And don’t forget to eat something fried in honor of the money you saved.