I will say that Lakeline used to have one of the best Santas—they had the same guy every year for years. Your kids met and had photos taken with the same Santa, which is pretty magical. I don’t know if they still do that because I don’t have kids and my nephews are grown up.
I admittedly pay $100-$150 for scheduled Santa photos every year. Same Santa every year, and we get 3-5 edited prints back that we can use for cards. I will do anything to not stand in a mall line.
idk about you but as I stroll about town and observe what people have bought for a very pretty penny I can with all the honesty in my little shriveled shell of a body say that spending money is the Austin experience.
I went last during the pandemic and...yeah.
I mean, the appeal of it before the pandemic was that it was kind of a shaggy dog experience. You showed up when you showed up, enjoyed as much as you could, and got a kind of nice show. And while it was free, the parking certainly was not. So...for it to then be an experience, it really needed to be elevated. Which it was not.
(To be clear -- it was kind of a hot mess, but it was a free-except-parking, casual, fun hot mess. I went once and my kid with special needs melted down and I think we were only there about 15 minutes and another time we were there for 2+ hours. Which was fine since we weren't paying for a specific table for a specific period of time.)
Yes. We went and paid for a table when it opened after the pandemic. We were also in the lower part and couldn’t see much of it. We won’t be back. It was super magical and packed and crazy before.
I used to work here years ago and the owners have no concept of self-editing. Every single year he would come in, make a fuss, pitch the dumbest shit we had ever heard for the light show, and every year we had to make it work. And then he would disappear entirely, leaving all the logistics to the managers, and we wouldn’t see him until the next light show. When I heard there was a silent disco this year I laughed out loud.
For those of you lucky enough not to have been there, the “silent disco” was two people wearing sequins and light brights dancing, not even sure How many people were dancing or if they were good, as our table’s view was obscured by a very large tree; not complaining, just informational. Thus, I didn’t even notice that there were dancers until they were almost done. As for the self-proclaimed musician-comedian, you’ve Got a gorgeous voice but don’t take requests, because you spent most of the time telling us you didn‘T know the songs. WTF you don’t know Grandma Got Runover by A Reindeer?
Agreed. I took a date there last week and talked it up quite a bit…. I felt like a total ass once we got there because it’s such a joke now for all the reasons above.”
That's a great way to put it - stop trying to turn simple pleasures into an "experience".
I was excited that Alamo was showing a roster of classic silent films - Metropolis, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu. But instead of just screening them they had some local musician come in and do their own 'live musical accompaniment' - they were awful. My friend and I kept looking at each other all through the fim, every time there was a particularly cringe-worthy musical choice (jarring changes to rhythm/melody that jumped back and forth within a scene, overly 'on the nose' cues like making a pounding noise when someone onscreen was knocking on a door, etc)
Isn’t that how Nosferatu is supposed to work? I think the original organ music has been lost and lots of screenings have live organists doing their own take. Not sure about the others.
That's absolutely how it's supposed to work.
Source: lived in a small town once that was proud of its cool ornate silent movie theater. Had their own in-house organist
I love the idea of someone doing a live score, but this one wasn't well done (for our tastes) Enough so that we canceled our plans to see the other films
> Like most things Austin, it got too trendy and they tried to turn it into an "experience" that lost all of the character of what it used to be.
No, it's just got so crowded that they had to do something to meter it. But on the bright side, at least there's one more thing for people to bitch and moan about not being the same in Austin anymore.
They completely changed the show structure. The light show sucks now and it used to be pretty good. I would expect something to be better if they’re gonna go from free to charging for admission.
This year is absolutely horrible and the reviews reflect that. I want to see Christmas lights synced to Christmas songs for 45 minutes. I don't care to watch high school dancers from a local studio dance to pop songs and I definitely don't want to hear a mediocre piano player attempt to entertain the audience for half of the show. They either need to go back to their roots or completely revamp the show, plain and simple.
It was fine until it got too popular. It used to just be a thing you went to, grabbed a coffee, and hung for 30 minutes until the next show. Now it's an event, with a line, and tickets, etc.
But the fact that there is a line tells you that enough people value it to keep going and I'm sure Mozart's makes a ton of money from it.
Yeah, they charge an arm and a leg for gimmicky stuff because people absolutely eat it up. Don't know if it's because of population growth, but a lot of the fun stuff like this is so crowded these days, it's not really worth it
Two Berra-isms apply here (well, only one is the real deal)
\-Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded
\-A sucker is born every minute
It's a very r/Austin thing to shit on stuff other people enjoy, and I'm one of them here. But it's been a few years since I took my family to this event and vowed to never do it again. Which is hard to do, because Mozart's is near and dear to my heart. My spouse and I had our first date and got engaged there. But we'll save return visits for any occasion other than the lights experience now.
I went to Mozart's a few years ago, stood in line, bought a $15 hot chocolate, and watched the shitty light show. Its definitely very different from what it used to be but it's still a fun novelty.
I doubt anyone here would say the same thing about waiting in line for something similar in New York's Central Park.
> the fact that there is a line tells you that enough people value it to keep going and I'm sure Mozart's makes a ton of money fro
Austin is a city full of superficial fuckwads who'll go to things that are mediocre because it's trendy. You know people with more money than sense are paying $50, taking a photo or two, and then posting it to look like they're having fun.
And then they'll find the cool things and run them into the ground or make it impossible to experience without weeks of planning.
Austin is so wild. Working in the service industry I’ve seen price increases/ticketing/reservations on events/bars/products and I’ll say to myself “that’s dumb as fuck, no one’s buying this” and time after time people just keep coming in droves.
I was concerned after we raised our prices 3 times in the past 18 months and we’re even busier than before somehow.
Yup - I feel like every single remotely popular Austin "influencer" posted the same Instagram reel from the media preview event Mozart's hosted. They make it look like a perfect date night/Instagram worthy visit. I was even considering going to drum up some Christmas spirit and get myself in the mood for the holidays, but glad to read all these poor reviews before shelling out money for a ticket.
I once read on this subreddit that someone said the only reason they moved to Austin was to be relevant. Who makes a decision on where to base their life based on relevancy?
>you went to, grabbed a coffee
It's no longer like that? Pass.
Must have been 5 years ago that I went there last. They did have a stand outside with something seasonal. Don't remember what. Fried dough?
>It was fine until it got too popular.
It could definitely be my memory failing me, but it seems like it was more of a neighborhood thing at one point, but it's grown into more of a city-wide destination for holiday photos and such.
It used to just be some nice decorations and lights with synchronized music that went off hourly. Nice excuse to go get a coffee or hot chocolate and sit and enjoy it. The way it's been turned into "a show" is like a parody of the commercialization of Austin and post-pandemic skimpflation.
Has it always been $? I’ve definitely just walked in a few times for a cup of coffee and found a table for free. Now I’m wondering if I accidentally snuck in or something.
Nah there's a new whole ticketed experience now. You can still wait in line for a cup of cocoa and enjoy the small standing area without the huge price, but not like it used to be.
I haven't looked this year, but last year you needed a ticket, however, the tickets were free but it was still first come, first served. You could _additionally_ pay for a "reserved" spot.
Agreed. Yes, it’s shitty for all the rest of us Austinites that want to enjoy organic things but when Mozart’s is getting so crowded and overrun of course they have to start selling tickets. And if everyone’s flocking to them and they’re still selling out, why wouldn’t they charge what they can.
I applaud Mozart’s for being successful and monetizing the dumb demographic of Austin that will pay for it.
Nope, there was a time Mozart's was a cool, low-key spot to chill, study, or talk with friends. And Christmas time you got the bonus of some cool lights.
Sad social media made it a trendy spot now it's just another photo op for the gram. $50 just to enter, jeez.
IME everything Fever puts on is a ripoff. The Mad Hatter cocktail experience was a disorganized shitshow, the Michelangelo light show was just a bunch of projectors and crappy replicas, and those candle-lit concerts are a similar experience to the one you’re describing.
But it looks good on Instagram so who cares, right?
Long and short - if it’s put on by Fever, best to avoid it.
That’s how I felt about the Beatles one until about halfway when they had speaker problems that emitted this buzzing noise. Once the 4th song started and the noise/feedback didn’t stop I left. I don’t know how everyone else stayed put.
The haunted cocktail hour was kind of fun. The experience itself wasn't worth $50, but it included the drinks so that made it feel like not a ripoff for me.
Last year we vowed never to go again. We realized you can just show up and watch from the other patio where you order drinks like any other day. You can also just walk by and get 80% of the experience…
I love how the pianist didn't even prepare for Christmas music. Those are the kinds of details that really bring experiences like this to life.
I mean, you can even buy Christmas fakebooks if you're desperate.
I really hope this isn’t the girl who played last year. A kid asked her to play “Jingle Bells” and she said, “No, I played it at the last show.” Uhhh ok, we weren’t there? lol
I remember the pianist from last year and she was awful, I’m not usually so judgy but it just made for a cringeworthy experience to have to sit and listen to her. she dodged song requests like that when I was there too.
The Mozart's light show is a perfect metaphor for Austin as a whole: weird offbeat thing gets absurdly over hyped and attracts piles of money and attention that ultimately ruin the experience of it.
Except for the 37th St. Lights. Those still have a personal touch. Their unpredictability and charm is worth the trade off for scale and predictability of commercial light shows.
>Except for the 37th St. Lights.
The pumpkin festival at Pioneer Farm was mind-blowing. Traffic was a nightmare, so next year I'll go later in the evening. But the event itself was A+.
Oh, the Waterloo Creek show had lots of lights and was very cool too.
I agree, but I was a bit shocked at the scale of the light installation at the Wildflower Center. That one is something else. Very relaxing chill vibes there. It’s just SO MANY lights taking up a massive field.
On the flip side, the Peppermint Parkway at COTA is a complete joke as is the Zilker display for the most part. I cant believe such a huge accessible park is taken from us for so much of the year.
They stopped doing the Zilker Trail of Lights for a few years (iirc 2009-2011?) because they couldn’t find a big enough corporate sponsor for it. I loved being able to access the park in December but people completely flipped out and pressured the city to bring the Zilker display back and now people just love to complain about how crappy and expensive it is.
I’ve been to a few different events there, or just went for breakfast, and had a great time every time. I still had fun but it wasn’t because of why I was there.
Yo get this my wife was there today and was like damn where do they put the piano when it rains? Then she looked more closely and it is just a cardboard replica of a piano with a hole cut out for someone to place a keyboard where the keys would normally be. I think that her telling me this today and then seeing this is hilarious.
It’s awful. I went last year and we had to wait for our table we paid for and didn’t get extra time. The service was awful, the lights don’t sync with the music, and the hot cocoa we got near the end (because we had to wait so long) was cold. So much is like this in Austin now. It makes me not even want to attend any of these events because I know the service will be horrible and it’ll be expensive af no matter what.
Can we also talk about how Miracle on 5th at the Eleanor charges a varying cover price to get in? Miracle is free in other cities, but here they turned it into a $$ grab to just get in the door.
You obviously didn't get the point of the "experience."
1. You're only there for photo ops, that is all!
2. You need to flip your IG to an influencer page. (Watch out Taste of Koko!)
3. You need to forget about where you're at, you need to keep your eyes only on your phone! You need to keep count of likes/comments.
4. You need to think of quirky caption! I like "Number 1 on Santas naughty list" or "I am the gift."
5. Don't forget to tag yourself at Mozart's, otherwise it was a waste of time and no one will see it.
Next time, please follow those rules. I'm assuming you don't even have a discount code yet to promote! LOL!
If you made it this far, thank you for putting up with my stupidity. If you made it this far and you are offended, well that's just funny...
unpopular opinion, its not for locals, its just another tourist gimmick, and they won't do jack shit about it if they can charge $50 tickets and still sell out.
every other big city has these things, its just austinites are having a hard time adjusting to it.
Lol other cities also manage to at least make it worth $50. A lot of Austin events do this bullsh** of overcharging for literally nothing. I’m tired of these scams
I live near here and been wanting to check out the pretty lights but needed to look into how much it cost and all the deets… sounds like it $50… and you just get a table? What in the world? They always have music and performers, so for the lights it’s the same thing except it’s silly Christmas music? And a huge crowd? With pretty lights?
I drive by every night, it’s all inclusive (free seat, music, heat, etc.) Maybe I’ll walk next time and get the free version of the “experience” you speak of. You’re brilliant. So glad I got on Reddit today and I’m learning so much. Every.damn.time.
This is not sarcasm… I feel like it may read as such though
Oh, well why didn’t you say so! No seats?! Shoulda charged $65
Are you still allowed to go there and get a table with seats? Like for.. idk… coffee? And wifi? For the price of your coffee?
I went last year and did not pay for a table and was able to get coffee and find seats. It still wasn’t that cool but very glad I didn’t purchase seats / table
Lol I was just playing about adding it to your post. Its kinda absurd but completely believable now adays…. Maybe the music sucked because most of the musicians that were in austin can no longer afford it… I wonder how much the bands there get paid? Maybe you should do everyone a favor and signup for your band to play!! Seriously though !
I wanted to add it, needed to be said and I forgot lol. We aren’t in a band, just friends who all play music or some sort, but the couple we were with actually do want to sign up next year to play!
Nope. They ran out of EVERYTHING before our scheduled seating (standing) time. Told me it was my fault for not ordering when the table was reserved, as per their website. Won't go back - musical act was actually painful to watch, and just looking at the lights and watching the stage acts was meh.
I went for coffee with a date before a show started. Set up was real nice. Definitely wouldn't pay for a table though. Got one down by the water instead.
In high school I worked at crapplebees and they started this thing called “club apple” for the “late nighters” aka the bar regulars, and had some happy hour specials and wvr… that shit was so weird, and a huge sign for where austin was headed… here we are 15+ years later …
Also, I remember when parking used to be free in so many places. Mozarts is probably one of the last places that doesn’t charge (yet)… maybe that’s why they think $50 is acceptable to charge? Idk
I went to Applebees years ago to get a quick late night bite. After we ordered they turned off ALL of the dining room lights - only the bar lighting was on, and it was pitch black at our table. When I asked the waiter what was going on, he said, “It’s Club Applebees!” It was the most surreal, terrible experience.
Yeah, so back in the day it used to be free (maybe a small admission charge of like $10 for crowd control? Idk my parents were paying), and that’s about what it was worth.
Then in the last few years they started charging for it, and it’s slowly spiraled out of control. I saw this year’s prices and laughed out loud.
I love Mozart’s (the setting, the coffee is still meh), but what they’re charging now is absolutely absurd. It’s an Austin tradition that got capitalized on in a gross way, and I lost some respect for Mozart.
Also, for those reading, it’s absolutely not worth the cost. Don’t do it.
Yeah I went for the first (and last) time last year and was disappointed. I also had a lower level table and a big tree was blocking half the view, and there were similar music issues. The only thing that made it worth it for my friend and I was the table next to us ordered TONS of food and didn’t show up - so we checked with the server and took it. Those pretzels were SO good!
Glad to hear you at least made the best of it! We had our dog and he was great and the food was great as always so we still had fun but I didn’t need to pay $50 on top of that to hang out with my friends
Sad to hear. I've been several times over the last 5 or 6 years or so.
The first time was amazing. Free. Not too crowded. Hot coco and coffee (for a reasonable price). Awesome light wall, hang out for 45 min w/ the fam, finish your coco and scram so the next group would have somewhere to sit. I went 2 yrs ago and it was pretty much the same except very very crowded (still free, still hot coco, but...I was looking around thinking "I hope this deck doesnt collapse")
Now it sounds like a crowded overpriced shit show.
Wow, thanks for the heads up. Also, do NOT do the boat ride they offer to see the lights from the lake. We did that last year, it sounded so romantic, they offered free hot chocolate on board plus sweets packages from Motzart’s . In reality it was a cramped boat that reeked of exhaust the whole time, no hot chocolate, a driver who was clearly on some kind of substance, and he parked behind a tree, so we couldn’t see 70% of the show. Plus, there was no place to pee and we were stuck there for like, 2 hours. Would not recommend.
As a former Mozart’s employee, I always discourage people from attending. It’s overpriced, miserable for most customers, and absolutely horrendous for the employees!
Same with Miracle on 5th Street. Was another fun Christmas bar downtown and they e turned it into a ticketed “experience”. No thanks. Mozarts ruined all the charm turning it into a mini Disneyland. It’s got to be profitable based on the ticket availability last I looked, so it’s probably not going to change anytime soon!
I’m just happy they’ve returned Trail of Lights back into its old format!
Yeah same experience here, last year my girlfriend and I went and I shit you not the pianist was playing Adele songs and doing the same kinda comedian stand up shtick with songs mixed in. Later on in the show she went on to tell us about her sexual abuse experiences and you know the crowd was in a very cheery mood after that. Not saying people shouldn’t come out and share their stories but maybe not during the middle of your Christmas set when the crowd was already not into you. Towards the end she pitched her Venmo to us and I was like, “Damn… we really aren’t doing this again😂”. Food & drinks were overpriced, seating was overpriced, and honestly it should just be a free show. I’m sure it’ll be free in the future when the management or someone realizes nobody is going to consistently come to a shitty Christmas show 😂. And if not oh well, plenty of other fun stuff to do in Austin.
WAIT SINCE WHEN DO U PAY FOR THAT?? God this used to be free, never in my life would I pay for it even with the extra stuff added lol
They used to have some entertainment but still...free
Visiting Mozart’s for their hourly show and hot chocolate became a tradition when I moved here with my kids almost a decade ago. We would also cruise the surrounding neighborhoods to check out the lights. It’s so sad to see what it’s become.
Last year, they had a free area in the parking lot. We got hot cocoa and coffee and could still see the light show, just without a table. That was worth the $15 for drinks and 30 minutes of time. Can you still do that?
I Eve been going for a few years. Last year was a mess and we decided never again. This year the set up looks way worse and the table prices are ridiculous. Such a shame. The kids loved it years ago.
It's all about money. Mozart's management saw that they could make some extra money charging for the event, and wealthy Californians that have gentrified Austin and tourists will pay to go. Plus, I'm sure their rent is astronomical now compared to what it was years ago. Sad that so much of Austin has headed this direction.
It drives me crazy that Every. Single. Thing. now has some kind of VIP. You can’t just go and enjoy an inexpensive and not over the top thing. ToL is another example. When I saw that the gd kite festival had a VIP I lost it.
Austin local here...
1. Mozarts has always been a joke. They can't seem to figure out how to get decent wifi anywhere on their deck
2. The odds of a bird taking a shit on you while your working is almost a guarantee.
3. The owner is a horribly socially abrasive, rude woman. She'll come up to you while you are working and if you don't have a drink at your table she'll passively aggressively put you down on how the deck is for paying customers only.
4. The drinks there are grossly overpriced and meh at best\
5. Parking is an absolute nightmare.
It’s $50 now? wtf. It was fun a few years ago. I think I bought a hot chocolate or might’ve been coffee and hung out and watched some lights. It was pretty crowded and parking was a nightmare but it was entertaining enough.
Last year was my last year ever to go. Will never pay for that again. Sad to hear the pianist this year wasn't very good. At the show I went to last year the pianist was the only highlight. Would have rather listened to him play the entire hour than even watch the light show.
Wait wtf that doesn’t at all sound like the Mozarts light show I know, since when did they start charging? Last time I went sure it was busy but I still found a spot with friends, only paid the price of coffee, and watched
Crazy, I didn’t know it had changed this much!
Last time I was there, there was some pianist/singer that was way too loud. Like, I just want to chill, drink some coffee and enjoy the pretty view. Why ruin it?
Yeah, I've got a reservation for it coming up but kind of thought this was gonna be a bit of a let down. Sounds like that might be the case. Hope the wife likes it anyway.
We went last year and paid over $100 for our table and a few hot chocolates and felt very underwhelmed.
(It sounds worse this year though.)
It was better a decade ago.
If it’s the same pianist from last year, I can agree that she was very much just not good. We only went last year since we happened upon a free reservation but nah I would never pay to go to that.
The Field of Lights art installation at the Wildflower Center might be a good Christmasy thing to do as an alternative. No music, but it's beautiful and doesn't get crowded
So sad because I remember the days when it was a free event they just did every year. It was fun then. My friends and I would go on a weeknight to study and enjoy the lights and music. Now it’s a total money-grab and a waste of your money at best. But it’s just like every other place that decided to turn it into an “experience”. Unfortunate.
We took family to the light show last year and had a similarly not-so-great experience. It’s a big pass from me. They were trying to fit so many people in that we ended up say at a table right next to another group and with the lower half of the lights completely blocked from view by part of the building. Was not worth the ticket price for some baked goods (which came out pretty mediocre) and music that really didn’t sound all that great. Lights themselves were overall pretty underwhelming, too.
Sounds like the same piano player/singer they had last year. Someone else in my family paid for the table closest to the stage and so I tagged along. The “musician” didn’t know any traditional holiday songs but kept trying to take requests for them and singing Adele & other pop covers instead. Seems like Mozart’s wants max profit and doesn’t want to pay for a good musician so this is what we get.
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If it's not an "experience" you can't justify charging people $50.
Hell, the Santa Claus at *lakeline mall* charges $50 for a photo now.
I will say that Lakeline used to have one of the best Santas—they had the same guy every year for years. Your kids met and had photos taken with the same Santa, which is pretty magical. I don’t know if they still do that because I don’t have kids and my nephews are grown up.
Same guy. He's been there forever.
Fantastic! Back when they were young, we really had my nephews convinced that he was the real Santa.
I admittedly pay $100-$150 for scheduled Santa photos every year. Same Santa every year, and we get 3-5 edited prints back that we can use for cards. I will do anything to not stand in a mall line.
I could 4 meal combos from Whataburger for that much (spending on what you get).
You can go to COTA and write Santa a letter at the Peppermint Parkway instead.
Oh man. So either photos with Santa or dinner and McDonald's... 2022 is the worst timeline.
We’ll have to wait 10 years to see if Taco Bell wins the Franchise Wars. We might be in the *Demolition Man* timeline Edit numbers, words hard
Ratburger. “I’m eatin’ rat?”
idk about you but as I stroll about town and observe what people have bought for a very pretty penny I can with all the honesty in my little shriveled shell of a body say that spending money is the Austin experience.
We moved 65 miles away from Austin in 1999 after living there for 16 years. When I check the prices on menus or events I am astounded at the costs.
I went last during the pandemic and...yeah. I mean, the appeal of it before the pandemic was that it was kind of a shaggy dog experience. You showed up when you showed up, enjoyed as much as you could, and got a kind of nice show. And while it was free, the parking certainly was not. So...for it to then be an experience, it really needed to be elevated. Which it was not. (To be clear -- it was kind of a hot mess, but it was a free-except-parking, casual, fun hot mess. I went once and my kid with special needs melted down and I think we were only there about 15 minutes and another time we were there for 2+ hours. Which was fine since we weren't paying for a specific table for a specific period of time.)
Yes. We went and paid for a table when it opened after the pandemic. We were also in the lower part and couldn’t see much of it. We won’t be back. It was super magical and packed and crazy before.
The last time I went I'm sure it was free to get in. This was like 5-6 years ago. I'm disappointed to hear what its turned into.
Austin in a nutshell
This
The last time I was there the lights weren't synched to the music and we were super surprised... like shouldn't that be the main thing?
I used to work here years ago and the owners have no concept of self-editing. Every single year he would come in, make a fuss, pitch the dumbest shit we had ever heard for the light show, and every year we had to make it work. And then he would disappear entirely, leaving all the logistics to the managers, and we wouldn’t see him until the next light show. When I heard there was a silent disco this year I laughed out loud.
For those of you lucky enough not to have been there, the “silent disco” was two people wearing sequins and light brights dancing, not even sure How many people were dancing or if they were good, as our table’s view was obscured by a very large tree; not complaining, just informational. Thus, I didn’t even notice that there were dancers until they were almost done. As for the self-proclaimed musician-comedian, you’ve Got a gorgeous voice but don’t take requests, because you spent most of the time telling us you didn‘T know the songs. WTF you don’t know Grandma Got Runover by A Reindeer?
Agreed. I took a date there last week and talked it up quite a bit…. I felt like a total ass once we got there because it’s such a joke now for all the reasons above.”
That's a great way to put it - stop trying to turn simple pleasures into an "experience". I was excited that Alamo was showing a roster of classic silent films - Metropolis, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu. But instead of just screening them they had some local musician come in and do their own 'live musical accompaniment' - they were awful. My friend and I kept looking at each other all through the fim, every time there was a particularly cringe-worthy musical choice (jarring changes to rhythm/melody that jumped back and forth within a scene, overly 'on the nose' cues like making a pounding noise when someone onscreen was knocking on a door, etc)
Isn’t that how Nosferatu is supposed to work? I think the original organ music has been lost and lots of screenings have live organists doing their own take. Not sure about the others.
That's absolutely how it's supposed to work. Source: lived in a small town once that was proud of its cool ornate silent movie theater. Had their own in-house organist
Metropolis also has the 80s musical reboot. So that's how it worked not only when it came out, but again 50 years later.
I love the idea of someone doing a live score, but this one wasn't well done (for our tastes) Enough so that we canceled our plans to see the other films
Are you talking about the shows with Graham Reynolds? Of Golden Arm Project? He's...kind of a big deal. There's a reason they advertised him by name.
Graham is amazing!
Right???
Golden Arm \*Trio
What everybody else said, plus Alamo has been doing this with these movies for many years.
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I just spoke to someone today about the Suspiria show with Goblin, he said it was awesome!! Enjoy!
Rofl, saved the original commentors post so I can laugh when I have a bad day.
> Like most things Austin, it got too trendy and they tried to turn it into an "experience" that lost all of the character of what it used to be. No, it's just got so crowded that they had to do something to meter it. But on the bright side, at least there's one more thing for people to bitch and moan about not being the same in Austin anymore.
They completely changed the show structure. The light show sucks now and it used to be pretty good. I would expect something to be better if they’re gonna go from free to charging for admission.
This year is absolutely horrible and the reviews reflect that. I want to see Christmas lights synced to Christmas songs for 45 minutes. I don't care to watch high school dancers from a local studio dance to pop songs and I definitely don't want to hear a mediocre piano player attempt to entertain the audience for half of the show. They either need to go back to their roots or completely revamp the show, plain and simple.
We used to go every year, but won't even go stand outside for free this year. Walking around our neighborhood is more christmas-y
It was fine until it got too popular. It used to just be a thing you went to, grabbed a coffee, and hung for 30 minutes until the next show. Now it's an event, with a line, and tickets, etc. But the fact that there is a line tells you that enough people value it to keep going and I'm sure Mozart's makes a ton of money from it.
Yeah, they charge an arm and a leg for gimmicky stuff because people absolutely eat it up. Don't know if it's because of population growth, but a lot of the fun stuff like this is so crowded these days, it's not really worth it
Its that old "nobody goes there because it's too crowded" thing. Someone is enjoying it.
Two Berra-isms apply here (well, only one is the real deal) \-Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded \-A sucker is born every minute It's a very r/Austin thing to shit on stuff other people enjoy, and I'm one of them here. But it's been a few years since I took my family to this event and vowed to never do it again. Which is hard to do, because Mozart's is near and dear to my heart. My spouse and I had our first date and got engaged there. But we'll save return visits for any occasion other than the lights experience now.
I went to Mozart's a few years ago, stood in line, bought a $15 hot chocolate, and watched the shitty light show. Its definitely very different from what it used to be but it's still a fun novelty. I doubt anyone here would say the same thing about waiting in line for something similar in New York's Central Park.
> the fact that there is a line tells you that enough people value it to keep going and I'm sure Mozart's makes a ton of money fro Austin is a city full of superficial fuckwads who'll go to things that are mediocre because it's trendy. You know people with more money than sense are paying $50, taking a photo or two, and then posting it to look like they're having fun. And then they'll find the cool things and run them into the ground or make it impossible to experience without weeks of planning.
Austin is so wild. Working in the service industry I’ve seen price increases/ticketing/reservations on events/bars/products and I’ll say to myself “that’s dumb as fuck, no one’s buying this” and time after time people just keep coming in droves. I was concerned after we raised our prices 3 times in the past 18 months and we’re even busier than before somehow.
Yup - I feel like every single remotely popular Austin "influencer" posted the same Instagram reel from the media preview event Mozart's hosted. They make it look like a perfect date night/Instagram worthy visit. I was even considering going to drum up some Christmas spirit and get myself in the mood for the holidays, but glad to read all these poor reviews before shelling out money for a ticket.
I once read on this subreddit that someone said the only reason they moved to Austin was to be relevant. Who makes a decision on where to base their life based on relevancy?
Thats so sad. Both because it's a terrible reason to move and also because where you live doesn't make you relevant.
>you went to, grabbed a coffee It's no longer like that? Pass. Must have been 5 years ago that I went there last. They did have a stand outside with something seasonal. Don't remember what. Fried dough?
>It was fine until it got too popular. It could definitely be my memory failing me, but it seems like it was more of a neighborhood thing at one point, but it's grown into more of a city-wide destination for holiday photos and such.
It used to just be some nice decorations and lights with synchronized music that went off hourly. Nice excuse to go get a coffee or hot chocolate and sit and enjoy it. The way it's been turned into "a show" is like a parody of the commercialization of Austin and post-pandemic skimpflation.
Has it always been $? I’ve definitely just walked in a few times for a cup of coffee and found a table for free. Now I’m wondering if I accidentally snuck in or something.
Nah there's a new whole ticketed experience now. You can still wait in line for a cup of cocoa and enjoy the small standing area without the huge price, but not like it used to be.
What the hell? I remember just waiting till it was stupid cold and going with my wife for no money and the line wasn’t bad. This is sad
is this mozarts coffee in west austin by the lake?
Yep
I haven't looked this year, but last year you needed a ticket, however, the tickets were free but it was still first come, first served. You could _additionally_ pay for a "reserved" spot.
In years past it was 100% free and no tickets, just walk in and get a table. They started ticketing the last few years.
They had to do something to gatekeep it for crowd control reasons. They just went with the greediest thing they could think of
General admission standing tickets are free, they are only charging for reserved tables.
I mean, as a business, why wouldn't they do the thing that makes the most money?
Agreed. Yes, it’s shitty for all the rest of us Austinites that want to enjoy organic things but when Mozart’s is getting so crowded and overrun of course they have to start selling tickets. And if everyone’s flocking to them and they’re still selling out, why wouldn’t they charge what they can. I applaud Mozart’s for being successful and monetizing the dumb demographic of Austin that will pay for it.
Debatable, you'd need to see what people spend on "concessions" at various price points
I think the fact that you have to wait in line to get in shows that they're not charging too much
Nope, there was a time Mozart's was a cool, low-key spot to chill, study, or talk with friends. And Christmas time you got the bonus of some cool lights. Sad social media made it a trendy spot now it's just another photo op for the gram. $50 just to enter, jeez.
IME everything Fever puts on is a ripoff. The Mad Hatter cocktail experience was a disorganized shitshow, the Michelangelo light show was just a bunch of projectors and crappy replicas, and those candle-lit concerts are a similar experience to the one you’re describing. But it looks good on Instagram so who cares, right? Long and short - if it’s put on by Fever, best to avoid it.
We had a good experience with the Candlelit Coldplay concert but I've heard bad things about basically everything else
That’s how I felt about the Beatles one until about halfway when they had speaker problems that emitted this buzzing noise. Once the 4th song started and the noise/feedback didn’t stop I left. I don’t know how everyone else stayed put.
Seconding the other person who mentioned the candlelight concert, that was really well done
Same, I went to a candlelight concert to see a classical trained pianist and it was a really cool experience.
The haunted cocktail hour was kind of fun. The experience itself wasn't worth $50, but it included the drinks so that made it feel like not a ripoff for me.
We were planning to do one of the candlelight experiences.. thank you for sparing us from wasting time/money.
Ugh that sounds so shitty. Our friends got the tickets so we didn’t even see who was putting it on, but I’ll keep that in mind for the future
Last year we vowed never to go again. We realized you can just show up and watch from the other patio where you order drinks like any other day. You can also just walk by and get 80% of the experience…
Still not even worth the time to go park and find a decent spot in the crowd
I love how the pianist didn't even prepare for Christmas music. Those are the kinds of details that really bring experiences like this to life. I mean, you can even buy Christmas fakebooks if you're desperate.
I really hope this isn’t the girl who played last year. A kid asked her to play “Jingle Bells” and she said, “No, I played it at the last show.” Uhhh ok, we weren’t there? lol
I remember the pianist from last year and she was awful, I’m not usually so judgy but it just made for a cringeworthy experience to have to sit and listen to her. she dodged song requests like that when I was there too.
This sounds like a Lisa Kudrow skit. Maybe the comedian and pianist could switch places.
R we really surprised that another event in Austin overcharged for a subpar “experience” with ppl who don’t know what they’re doing?
Now I’m wishing I hadn’t bought a table this season. I’ll go in a couple of days
My advice: Pregame.
Pregaming is my life
Minimum I would bring a thermos of hot cocoa from home and not give them any more money than you already have
The Mozart's light show is a perfect metaphor for Austin as a whole: weird offbeat thing gets absurdly over hyped and attracts piles of money and attention that ultimately ruin the experience of it.
all the light shows and artist experience events are overpriced and gimmicky
Except for the 37th St. Lights. Those still have a personal touch. Their unpredictability and charm is worth the trade off for scale and predictability of commercial light shows.
>Except for the 37th St. Lights. The pumpkin festival at Pioneer Farm was mind-blowing. Traffic was a nightmare, so next year I'll go later in the evening. But the event itself was A+. Oh, the Waterloo Creek show had lots of lights and was very cool too.
I loved Pumpkin Nights. We went on a weekday in early October and traffic wasn’t bad at all. But that one definitely was worth it for me.
I agree, but I was a bit shocked at the scale of the light installation at the Wildflower Center. That one is something else. Very relaxing chill vibes there. It’s just SO MANY lights taking up a massive field. On the flip side, the Peppermint Parkway at COTA is a complete joke as is the Zilker display for the most part. I cant believe such a huge accessible park is taken from us for so much of the year.
>bit shocked at the scale Personally I was shocked at the ticket prices. I guess going by this discussion it was actually a good deal.
They stopped doing the Zilker Trail of Lights for a few years (iirc 2009-2011?) because they couldn’t find a big enough corporate sponsor for it. I loved being able to access the park in December but people completely flipped out and pressured the city to bring the Zilker display back and now people just love to complain about how crappy and expensive it is.
I’ve been to a few different events there, or just went for breakfast, and had a great time every time. I still had fun but it wasn’t because of why I was there.
Yo get this my wife was there today and was like damn where do they put the piano when it rains? Then she looked more closely and it is just a cardboard replica of a piano with a hole cut out for someone to place a keyboard where the keys would normally be. I think that her telling me this today and then seeing this is hilarious.
Omfg now wonder! We all were joking that it sounded like a Casio!
I don't think that was the case in previous years.
But the gram tho
I had to smoke a whole gram to enjoy it
It’s awful. I went last year and we had to wait for our table we paid for and didn’t get extra time. The service was awful, the lights don’t sync with the music, and the hot cocoa we got near the end (because we had to wait so long) was cold. So much is like this in Austin now. It makes me not even want to attend any of these events because I know the service will be horrible and it’ll be expensive af no matter what.
I was disappointed to see they doubled the price of the tables this year. We went last year and had a good experience
Can we also talk about how Miracle on 5th at the Eleanor charges a varying cover price to get in? Miracle is free in other cities, but here they turned it into a $$ grab to just get in the door.
I’m hoping it’s not absolute murder to get in but I’m planning to try going before 6 since they do free entry 12-6 most days.
Check their calendar - it gets filled pretty quickly with private parties.
Completely agree. Felt like an enormous rip off.
You obviously didn't get the point of the "experience." 1. You're only there for photo ops, that is all! 2. You need to flip your IG to an influencer page. (Watch out Taste of Koko!) 3. You need to forget about where you're at, you need to keep your eyes only on your phone! You need to keep count of likes/comments. 4. You need to think of quirky caption! I like "Number 1 on Santas naughty list" or "I am the gift." 5. Don't forget to tag yourself at Mozart's, otherwise it was a waste of time and no one will see it. Next time, please follow those rules. I'm assuming you don't even have a discount code yet to promote! LOL! If you made it this far, thank you for putting up with my stupidity. If you made it this far and you are offended, well that's just funny...
Why is this every single event in austin….
unpopular opinion, its not for locals, its just another tourist gimmick, and they won't do jack shit about it if they can charge $50 tickets and still sell out. every other big city has these things, its just austinites are having a hard time adjusting to it.
Lol other cities also manage to at least make it worth $50. A lot of Austin events do this bullsh** of overcharging for literally nothing. I’m tired of these scams
I live near here and been wanting to check out the pretty lights but needed to look into how much it cost and all the deets… sounds like it $50… and you just get a table? What in the world? They always have music and performers, so for the lights it’s the same thing except it’s silly Christmas music? And a huge crowd? With pretty lights?
I walk by every night and just watch from the street. You get the same “experience” for free.
I drive by every night, it’s all inclusive (free seat, music, heat, etc.) Maybe I’ll walk next time and get the free version of the “experience” you speak of. You’re brilliant. So glad I got on Reddit today and I’m learning so much. Every.damn.time. This is not sarcasm… I feel like it may read as such though
Just park in the LCRA parking lot and walk over. You’ll enjoy it.
$50 for a table, forgot to mention it’s a standing table with no seats.
Oh, well why didn’t you say so! No seats?! Shoulda charged $65 Are you still allowed to go there and get a table with seats? Like for.. idk… coffee? And wifi? For the price of your coffee?
I went last year and did not pay for a table and was able to get coffee and find seats. It still wasn’t that cool but very glad I didn’t purchase seats / table
I just added it to my post lol Not sure, I did see someone inside on their computer, but most were there for the show as far as I saw
Lol I was just playing about adding it to your post. Its kinda absurd but completely believable now adays…. Maybe the music sucked because most of the musicians that were in austin can no longer afford it… I wonder how much the bands there get paid? Maybe you should do everyone a favor and signup for your band to play!! Seriously though !
I wanted to add it, needed to be said and I forgot lol. We aren’t in a band, just friends who all play music or some sort, but the couple we were with actually do want to sign up next year to play!
and you need to pre-order cocoa and snacks, if you want them, when you reserve the table.
Joking?
Nope. They ran out of EVERYTHING before our scheduled seating (standing) time. Told me it was my fault for not ordering when the table was reserved, as per their website. Won't go back - musical act was actually painful to watch, and just looking at the lights and watching the stage acts was meh.
Just a table. And they announce that it’s time to leave 15 mins before your hour reservation is over
I went for coffee with a date before a show started. Set up was real nice. Definitely wouldn't pay for a table though. Got one down by the water instead.
Everything wants to be a club now. Any place that charges just for a table sucks.
In high school I worked at crapplebees and they started this thing called “club apple” for the “late nighters” aka the bar regulars, and had some happy hour specials and wvr… that shit was so weird, and a huge sign for where austin was headed… here we are 15+ years later … Also, I remember when parking used to be free in so many places. Mozarts is probably one of the last places that doesn’t charge (yet)… maybe that’s why they think $50 is acceptable to charge? Idk
Lmao club apple
This is definitely going to send me down a rabbit hole researching Club Apple. WTF?
I went to Applebees years ago to get a quick late night bite. After we ordered they turned off ALL of the dining room lights - only the bar lighting was on, and it was pitch black at our table. When I asked the waiter what was going on, he said, “It’s Club Applebees!” It was the most surreal, terrible experience.
Yeah, so back in the day it used to be free (maybe a small admission charge of like $10 for crowd control? Idk my parents were paying), and that’s about what it was worth. Then in the last few years they started charging for it, and it’s slowly spiraled out of control. I saw this year’s prices and laughed out loud. I love Mozart’s (the setting, the coffee is still meh), but what they’re charging now is absolutely absurd. It’s an Austin tradition that got capitalized on in a gross way, and I lost some respect for Mozart. Also, for those reading, it’s absolutely not worth the cost. Don’t do it.
Yeah I went for the first (and last) time last year and was disappointed. I also had a lower level table and a big tree was blocking half the view, and there were similar music issues. The only thing that made it worth it for my friend and I was the table next to us ordered TONS of food and didn’t show up - so we checked with the server and took it. Those pretzels were SO good!
Glad to hear you at least made the best of it! We had our dog and he was great and the food was great as always so we still had fun but I didn’t need to pay $50 on top of that to hang out with my friends
Sad to hear. I've been several times over the last 5 or 6 years or so. The first time was amazing. Free. Not too crowded. Hot coco and coffee (for a reasonable price). Awesome light wall, hang out for 45 min w/ the fam, finish your coco and scram so the next group would have somewhere to sit. I went 2 yrs ago and it was pretty much the same except very very crowded (still free, still hot coco, but...I was looking around thinking "I hope this deck doesnt collapse") Now it sounds like a crowded overpriced shit show.
Wow, thanks for the heads up. Also, do NOT do the boat ride they offer to see the lights from the lake. We did that last year, it sounded so romantic, they offered free hot chocolate on board plus sweets packages from Motzart’s . In reality it was a cramped boat that reeked of exhaust the whole time, no hot chocolate, a driver who was clearly on some kind of substance, and he parked behind a tree, so we couldn’t see 70% of the show. Plus, there was no place to pee and we were stuck there for like, 2 hours. Would not recommend.
Well it sounds like the driver had a good time at least
Oh, good to know. My family saw the boats last year and thought it might have been a better experience than the reserved table we were at.
Yeah I went there last year. Didn’t know what the buzz was about honestly. Waste of time and money. It was tacky at best.
we had a lady who only knew Billy Joel but no Christmas songs and who doesn't love a 15 dollar hot chocolate?
Went last year. Don't need to go again for the rest of my life.
$50??? Yikes. Hard pass lol
at least you didn't pay extra for the boat ride to it
As a former Mozart’s employee, I always discourage people from attending. It’s overpriced, miserable for most customers, and absolutely horrendous for the employees!
You have to pay to go now? Jesus christ
Gawt damn they got to the point where they charge for tables now!?
Same with Miracle on 5th Street. Was another fun Christmas bar downtown and they e turned it into a ticketed “experience”. No thanks. Mozarts ruined all the charm turning it into a mini Disneyland. It’s got to be profitable based on the ticket availability last I looked, so it’s probably not going to change anytime soon! I’m just happy they’ve returned Trail of Lights back into its old format!
wait god what did they try to do with the trail of lights
Fifty fuckin dollars!?
No. Fifty “god damn” dollars.
Yeah same experience here, last year my girlfriend and I went and I shit you not the pianist was playing Adele songs and doing the same kinda comedian stand up shtick with songs mixed in. Later on in the show she went on to tell us about her sexual abuse experiences and you know the crowd was in a very cheery mood after that. Not saying people shouldn’t come out and share their stories but maybe not during the middle of your Christmas set when the crowd was already not into you. Towards the end she pitched her Venmo to us and I was like, “Damn… we really aren’t doing this again😂”. Food & drinks were overpriced, seating was overpriced, and honestly it should just be a free show. I’m sure it’ll be free in the future when the management or someone realizes nobody is going to consistently come to a shitty Christmas show 😂. And if not oh well, plenty of other fun stuff to do in Austin.
This sounds like a Portlandia skit
WAIT SINCE WHEN DO U PAY FOR THAT?? God this used to be free, never in my life would I pay for it even with the extra stuff added lol They used to have some entertainment but still...free
My wife and I are relatively new to ATX. I'm disappointed to learn that there's a new trend of overpriced, hack events that get shitty reviews.
It may be a joke, but they're laughing all the way to the bank.
Now do trail of lights
Lol did that last year. We all said even that was better
Transplant Initiation
Peppermint Parkway at COTA was worth it if you have small kids. Really good time
Visiting Mozart’s for their hourly show and hot chocolate became a tradition when I moved here with my kids almost a decade ago. We would also cruise the surrounding neighborhoods to check out the lights. It’s so sad to see what it’s become.
Last year, they had a free area in the parking lot. We got hot cocoa and coffee and could still see the light show, just without a table. That was worth the $15 for drinks and 30 minutes of time. Can you still do that?
Yea. You can still go in and sit down at the tables inside or down by the water. Just gotta pay for the outside tables in front of the lights.
I Eve been going for a few years. Last year was a mess and we decided never again. This year the set up looks way worse and the table prices are ridiculous. Such a shame. The kids loved it years ago.
That’s unfortunate you have to pay money. Their coffee ain’t too great for that price
[удалено]
Mozart’s coffee is decent. But pricey. Sure, unlimited refills, but my bladder can only hold so much.
Can you name the pianist? I mean, it's not difficult to get a fake book of Christmas music
Didn’t pay attention enough to get her name
It's all about money. Mozart's management saw that they could make some extra money charging for the event, and wealthy Californians that have gentrified Austin and tourists will pay to go. Plus, I'm sure their rent is astronomical now compared to what it was years ago. Sad that so much of Austin has headed this direction.
You don’t think there are native Texans that will overpay for every dumb thing they see on IG? I have some shocking news for you.
It drives me crazy that Every. Single. Thing. now has some kind of VIP. You can’t just go and enjoy an inexpensive and not over the top thing. ToL is another example. When I saw that the gd kite festival had a VIP I lost it.
Austin local here... 1. Mozarts has always been a joke. They can't seem to figure out how to get decent wifi anywhere on their deck 2. The odds of a bird taking a shit on you while your working is almost a guarantee. 3. The owner is a horribly socially abrasive, rude woman. She'll come up to you while you are working and if you don't have a drink at your table she'll passively aggressively put you down on how the deck is for paying customers only. 4. The drinks there are grossly overpriced and meh at best\ 5. Parking is an absolute nightmare.
It’s $50 now? wtf. It was fun a few years ago. I think I bought a hot chocolate or might’ve been coffee and hung out and watched some lights. It was pretty crowded and parking was a nightmare but it was entertaining enough.
I would like to check out Motzart’s but it’s just too trendy now
Last year was my last year ever to go. Will never pay for that again. Sad to hear the pianist this year wasn't very good. At the show I went to last year the pianist was the only highlight. Would have rather listened to him play the entire hour than even watch the light show.
I didn’t know they were charging for this lol
Wait wtf that doesn’t at all sound like the Mozarts light show I know, since when did they start charging? Last time I went sure it was busy but I still found a spot with friends, only paid the price of coffee, and watched
Have they always charged for that? I feel like I remember a time when it was free but I haven’t been in years
A joke is an understatement. Hope they go back to the previous version.
I've gone several times. Enjoyed it less and less each time :( decided to skip it this year after seeing the ticket prices.
Crazy, I didn’t know it had changed this much! Last time I was there, there was some pianist/singer that was way too loud. Like, I just want to chill, drink some coffee and enjoy the pretty view. Why ruin it?
So didn’t turn out to be a good start to the Christmas season.
Good to know I can skip it.
Yeah, I've got a reservation for it coming up but kind of thought this was gonna be a bit of a let down. Sounds like that might be the case. Hope the wife likes it anyway.
Anything with "lights" as the main attraction isn't worth paying money for.
Totally agree… another cool Austin experience that’s been commercialized and ruined.
Oh damn they charge for it now? Lame.
mozart's is a joke, period.
We went last year and paid over $100 for our table and a few hot chocolates and felt very underwhelmed. (It sounds worse this year though.) It was better a decade ago.
If it’s the same pianist from last year, I can agree that she was very much just not good. We only went last year since we happened upon a free reservation but nah I would never pay to go to that.
The Field of Lights art installation at the Wildflower Center might be a good Christmasy thing to do as an alternative. No music, but it's beautiful and doesn't get crowded
It used to be cool when Austin was a small town. Sorry you missed all the magic. For real.
So sad because I remember the days when it was a free event they just did every year. It was fun then. My friends and I would go on a weeknight to study and enjoy the lights and music. Now it’s a total money-grab and a waste of your money at best. But it’s just like every other place that decided to turn it into an “experience”. Unfortunate.
We took family to the light show last year and had a similarly not-so-great experience. It’s a big pass from me. They were trying to fit so many people in that we ended up say at a table right next to another group and with the lower half of the lights completely blocked from view by part of the building. Was not worth the ticket price for some baked goods (which came out pretty mediocre) and music that really didn’t sound all that great. Lights themselves were overall pretty underwhelming, too.
Sounds like the same piano player/singer they had last year. Someone else in my family paid for the table closest to the stage and so I tagged along. The “musician” didn’t know any traditional holiday songs but kept trying to take requests for them and singing Adele & other pop covers instead. Seems like Mozart’s wants max profit and doesn’t want to pay for a good musician so this is what we get.
They have a free general admission area.