Thousands of spectators gathered Thursday night at the Embassy Diner for a highly anticipated Sept. 11 memorial drone show, but the drones never made it into the sky.

After waiting several hours for the show to begin, event organizers ultimately canceled the aerial display.

"We wanted it to happen so bad, and it didn't," said Embassy Diner owner Gus Tsiorvas. "From what we got, it was just so many thousands upon thousands of people. Last year, we had 350 drones. This year, we had 1,000 drones and something with the signals and the phones."

Tsiorvas said he contracted Grizzly Entertainment to operate the drone display. The diner successfully hosted a drone show last year, but he believes cellphone interference due to the large crowd may have contributed to the technical issues that kept the drones grounded.

While many attendees expressed disappointment, they said the event remained a meaningful community gathering.

"It was a little disappointing, but the kids had fun either way," said Bethpage resident Ashleigh Lyons. "We had fun. It was a very large community event."

Despite the canceled show, attendees focused on the evening's larger purpose: honoring those lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Forget the drones. It was a success," said Huntington resident Adele Sondermann. "He got us together."

Many attendees echoed that sentiment, saying the event's value extended beyond the planned technology display and served as an opportunity for neighbors to come together in remembrance.

Tsiorvas said he hopes to bring the drone show back next year for the 26th anniversary commemoration.

He said while he couldn't control that the event was canceled, he was "thrilled to see how many people showed up. That was the most important thing to me."