Harry Potter fans gathered in droves at London's King's Cross Station to celebrate the day their favorite wizard departed for Hogwarts.
Ever since Harry Potter departed for the wizarding school on the Hogwarts Express, fans of the fantasy novel and film series have flocked to London's King's Cross Station in droves to celebrate the occasion. But this year, it fell flat.
No announcement this year
As fans gathered at King's Cross Station every year, with their costumes, wands and luggage intact, an announcement was made at 11am on September 1st that the fictional Hogwarts Express was arriving. Previously, a video of the train arriving at the fictional platform 9 3/4 was shown on the station's large screen.
According to the video, it was confirmed to be making the rounds. "Adults are disappointed that a real station with real trains didn't announce a fake train from a fake platform to a fake destination, lol," one X-user commented on the viral video. "The last Harry movie came out in 2011. Live your life (crying face emoji)," another posted. "Looks like magic took a day off. Huge disappointment for Harry Potter fans," a third commented.
Advance Information
Several X-users also pointed out that the authorities had actually announced in advance that there would be no Hogwarts Express announcement at Kings Cross this year. "It's disappointing to see such a cherished tradition canceled, but people were given a week's notice," one user wrote. In fact, the official Harry Potter website, Wizarding World, mentioned this big announcement on July 23 when outlining their plans for September 1.
"First, an important message from us: we strongly encourage fans to avoid going to Kings Cross Station this year, as there will be no events, departure boards, countdowns, etc. from September 1 onwards," it said.
