Mozarts Christmas Light Show (Austin: neighborhoods, schools, live)

[CarnivalGal]

As long as I've lived here, I've never been to this. But I'd like to take the kids this year. Is it ridiculously crowded? What about parking? Parking there is a mess on normal days. Are some days less crowded than others? How early do we need to get there? Any advice or information would be appreciated.

[JT-3]

I found parking across the street last week no problem. We got on the dinner waitlist at HulaHut and then went to Mozarts for coffee. Pager went off 40m later and back to HH.

[luksky]

We just went Wednesday night. We got there right around 6pm and we found parking right in the lot, but not very easily. I understand there is parking right across the street from it if you can’t park in the lot.

Folks were starting to pack in as we were leaving around 7pm. I’m pretty sure the weekends are ridiculously crowded, so I would suggest a weekday if possible.

My advice would be to get there around 6pm on a weeknight to avoid a larger crowd. The place is pretty small though, so it’s kinda hard to avoid ‘crowds’.

[mrsb9494]

We drove by last weekend and it was HORRENDOUSLY packed. Go during the week.

[centralaustinite]

They do the light show every hour on the hour, until 11 pm and the crowd gets lighter later in the month.

[Westerner92]

The light show itself isn't all that special in my opinion, but the fact that it's at Mozart's makes it pretty cool. Having a hot coffee on a cool night on the deck with the light show gets you into the Christmas spirit. It'll be crowded, but I've never had trouble finding parking across the street. Mozart's crowds tend to level off once it reaches a certain threshold since people are driven away by the crowds. If you go late on a weeknight, it should be pretty pleasant.

[Cardiff Giant]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

They do the light show every hour on the hour, until 11 pm and the crowd gets lighter later in the month.

They changed the format up a little from previous years:

What’s New This Year?

Unlike in the past, you don’t need to be there on the hour for the light show. This year, there’s an on-going experience all evening long from 6-11 p.m., but not a scheduled show. Visitors can expect to be surrounded by more than one million LED lights, some of which have been sculpted into giant iconic objects, custom-made in Greece, such as a dozen guitars, a Disney-like carriage, a giant coffee mug and a tree filled with presents. Plus, there’s a new audio-activated wall of lights that the kids can enjoy.

In addition, more than 20 choirs from local schools and community groups are scheduled to perform Christmas songs that range from traditional to “rock-the-deck” tunes.

We went for the first time last year (during the week) and my wife had a broken foot so we just pulled up and parked right out front in a handicap spot. Somehow I don't think it'll be so easy this year.

[10scoachrick]

Not that I will go to any of them; but here's a list of other "displays":

10 best places in Austin to watch enchanting holiday light displays - CultureMap Austin

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by Cardiff Giant

They changed the format up a little from previous years:

What’s New This Year?

Unlike in the past, you don’t need to be there on the hour for the light show. This year, there’s an on-going experience all evening long from 6-11 p.m., but not a scheduled show. Visitors can expect to be surrounded by more than one million LED lights, some of which have been sculpted into giant iconic objects, custom-made in Greece, such as a dozen guitars, a Disney-like carriage, a giant coffee mug and a tree filled with presents. Plus, there’s a new audio-activated wall of lights that the kids can enjoy.

In addition, more than 20 choirs from local schools and community groups are scheduled to perform Christmas songs that range from traditional to “rock-the-deck” tunes.

We went for the first time last year (during the week) and my wife had a broken foot so we just pulled up and parked right out front in a handicap spot. Somehow I don't think it'll be so easy this year.

wow, good for them I guess but I have to say that a continuous show sounds less appealing and more frantic to me.

[CarnivalGal]

Thanks for the info. I think we may try sometime next week. I asked about parking because even on typical weekends, parking's an issue - even across the street.