Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 02, 2016 State shares	Oct. 02, 2016 State shares
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of States in which Entity Operates | State	47	47
Document Type		10-Q
Amendment Flag		false
Document Period End Date		Oct. 02, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus		2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol		CEC
Entity Registrant Name		CEC ENTERTAINMENT INC
Entity Central Index Key		0000813920
Current Fiscal Year End Date		--01-01
Entity Filer Category		Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding | shares	200	200