MINECON 2013

MINECON 2013 was a Minecraft convention held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, USA, from November 2 to 3, 2013. The official Tumblr page for the event can be found here.

MINECON 2013

Details
Type	Convention
Date	November 2–3, 2013
Location	Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Preceded by	MINECON 2012
Followed by	MINECON 2015

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The song "One" from C418's soundtrack for the Story of Mojang documentary was featured on the 2013 event website.

Announcement

On June 27, 2013, Mojang announced that MINECON 2013 would be held in Orlando, Florida, USA, from November 2–3. Tickets and hotel deals were scheduled to go on sale in July.

The event was confirmed to take place at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). Initially, MINECON was listed on the OCCC's calendar of events but was temporarily removed due to high traffic. After ticket sales concluded, MINECON was re-added to the OCCC Exhibitor On-line Services calendar and the Show Banner Orders calendar. A dedicated page for exhibitors to arrange electrical, lighting, and other booth utilities was also created.

Location

The event was held at the Orange County Convention Center (9990 International Drive, Orlando, Florida). Activities were centered in the West Building, specifically Exhibit Halls WA3 - WB1.

Tickets

Tickets went on sale in three batches on July 31, August 2, and August 3, 2013, priced at $150 USD each. Each batch offered 2,500 tickets, totaling 7,500 available passes. Attendees were also given access to discounted hotel bookings.

Batch	Sale Date	Time (PDT)
1	July 31, 2013	16:00
2	August 2, 2013	7:00
3	August 3, 2013	12:00

The first batch sold out within three seconds.

Event

MINECON 2013 featured an official costume contest and an official build contest, marking the last time these contests were held. Contestant fyrflies placed in both the Build Contest and the Costume Contest.

Build Contest

The build contest theme was "Halloween", reflecting the proximity to the holiday. The contest ran weeks before the convention, with winners announced at the closing ceremony. Tewkesape/theo_the_ape was the only participant to place in the top three for both the 2013 and 2012 build contests.

Winners

Placement	Name
1st	tewkesape/theo_the_ape
2nd	nihontiger
3rd	fyrflies

Cape

MINECON 2013 cape design

On September 5, 2013, Mojang announced that attendees would receive a 2013 MINECON cape. The capes, featuring a jade green design with a piston emblem, were distributed via email on October 29, 2013.

Controversies

Ticket sales

Mojang and their ticket vendor, Eventbrite, faced criticism for the ticket sales system. The rapid sell-out of tickets (the first batch in three seconds) and technical issues with the "Pending" status during checkout led to widespread complaints. A Change.org petition was created in response.

Age restriction

Mojang initially set the age restriction at 17 years old (16 and under with an adult). After reconsideration, the restriction was lowered to 14 years old (13 and under with an adult). Refunds were offered for those affected, and returned tickets were resold.

Gallery

• 

  Official event logo.

• 

  Promotional artwork.

• 

  The LEGO Steve figure distributed to attendees.