Minecraft annual events

MineCon (initially referred to as MineCraftCon) is an annual Minecraft convention held by Mojang AB. The first one was held in 2010 in Washington State. The most recent MineCon occurred on November 18th 2011 in Las Vegas and celebrated the release of Minecraft 1.0. MineCon 2012 will be held in Disneyland Paris from November 24 - 25th.

2010
Minecraftcon 2010 was a spontaneous gathering of Minecraft fans on August 31st 2010 in Bellevue, Washington. It was conceived by Notch after expressing in a blog post several requests for a meet-up by players and had called on the community to organize one with no specific choice of venue. While Notch had labeled it "Minecraftcon 2010", it is a bit of a misnomer as it implies a formal convention not unlike that of a typical gaming convention or anime convention.

More than fifty people had turned up at the gathering, including one in a full body creeper costume, in which Notch took a cautious interest.

2011


MineCon 2011 was held at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada on November 18, 2011. Tickets cost $99 and coincided with the official release of the game. The official page is located here.

MineCon featured many exciting events, such as the official Minecraft release, keynote speeches (including one from Notch), building contests, breakout classes with different Minecraft topics, costume contests, exhibits, meeting worldwide Minecraft personalities and commemorative merchandise.

There were 4,500 attendees at MineCon 2011, aging from new borns to 105 year olds and coming from 24 countries. Events included the Kickoff party, which everybody was invited to and the Into the Nether party, featuring Deadmau5, where only attendees 21 years and over were allowed into.

Tickets
Tickets went on sale on the 11th of August 2011, 99 days before the start of the conference on 18 November. The early-bird price was $99, which ran until September 30. After that, the price (including the price at the gate) became $139. The price did not include hotel rooms, flights or any other costs involved apart from entry to MineCon. However, as of October 28th, the tickets were all sold out.

The first 500 ticket purchasers were entered into the drawing to receive "The Ultimate Fan Experience". The winner won a paid-for hotel room at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, VIP seating to keynotes and presentations, and a meal with the Mojang team. The draw was won by a player named Joseph.

Cape
Notch announced that those attending MineCon 2011 would receive a MineCon 2011 Cape. He quickly removed the announcement and said it was supposed to be a secret. On September 27, a new photo of the official cape was released along more information on who would be attending MineCon 2011.

2012
On April 9th 2012, Lydia Winters (MinecraftChick) confirmed that MineCon 2012 will occur in Europe. Lydia Winters also announced that details will become clear in the coming weeks. On July 18th 2012 Lydia Winters posted on the Mojang website that in the following week a video would go up saying where MineCon 2012 will be. On August 2nd 2012, Mojang officially announced through a promotional video on YouTube that MineCon 2012 will be held in Disneyland Paris from November 24 - 25th. Ticket sales and hotel registration will start in the next few weeks. A forum was created to help users organise meet-ups, travel and accommodation for Minecon 2012.