I'll have to admit that my experience of the state fair is a lot different from most. Some coworkers and I were able to get free parking and passes to the fair. We also work early hours, so we went in the afternoon on Friday during "happy hour." A lot of rides and games were discounted during that time. I was there for about three hours, and only spent about 10 dollars!
For us, it was a wonderful way to waste a couple of hours. I know it's not realistic for most families, but if you're able to go on a weekday afternoon while things are cheap, it's a whole lot of fun. There's plenty of fun little rides, all of which threw off my equilibrium. The games are the usual assortment of carnival stuff. Try to do something that's usually harder than it looks to win a stuffed animal that probably isn't worth what you pay to try to win it. I won a stuffed monkey on one of them!
There's also some great people watching. I don't know what it is about events like the state fair, but you seem to get an amazing assortment of every kind of person that Arizona has to offer.