MINECON 2013

MINECON 2013 was held in Orlando, Florida from November 2 to 3. Official Tumblr: https://mineconorlando.tumblr.com/.



Announcement
Mojang revealed on June 27 that MINECON 2013 would be held in Orlando, Florida from November 2–3. It was also said that tickets/hotel deals would later be available for sale in July.

After a lot of mystery, it was officially confirmed by Mojang that MINECON 2013 would be hosted in the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). At one point, it was listed on the OCCC's calendar of scheduled events. Due to popularity directed toward OCCC's website, MINECON was taken off the list for upcoming events. Some time after all the tickets where sold, MINECON was added to the OCCC Exhibitor On-line Services calendar and the Show Banner Orders calendar. Also a page for exhibiters to get electrical, lighting and other booth utilities was created.

Location
Orange County Convention Center Location of Orange County Convention Center: 9990 International Drive, Orlando, Florida Location within the OCCC for MINECON 2013 is the West Building; Exhibit Halls WA3 - WB1

Age restriction
Mojang originally intended the age restriction to be without an adult to be 17 years old, (16 and under with an adult) but after further research and consideration, they lowered it to 14 years of age (13 and under with an adult). They offered a refund for this reason, and tickets refunded were put back on sale if accepted.

Tickets
Early on July 31, Mojang confirmed that tickets would start going on sale later that day. These tickets were said to be released in batches of 3, each selling 2,500 tickets and at $150 a piece. (7,500 tickets in total). This system was intended to give people who may have school, or a job a chance to get tickets. Also, Mojang announced that 7,500 tickets is the total number, no more, they weren't selling at-door tickets, and they didn't give away tickets to the press for free. They also gave attendees discounted hotel bookings.

Batches:

One: July 31, 4:00 PM PDT and 7:00 EDT. (Sold out within 3 seconds)

Two: August 2, 7:00 AM PDT and 10:00 EDT.

Three: August 3, 12:00 PM PDT and 3:00 EDT.

Cape
On September 5, Mojang posted that attendees who went to MINECON would receive a 2013 MINECON cape. Further details regarding the capes were stated to be "released at a later date."

On October 29, Mojang stated that capes were sent as a redemption URL to the email address registered when the ticket was purchased. The capes were sent out through email with the message: "A popular part of going to MINECON is that you receive an in-game cape for your character to show everyone online that you were there." "This year's edition comes in jade green with a handsome piston fitted on the center back. Follow the link below and log in to minecraft.net (with your usual credentials) and it will automatically get added to your character." - Lydia Winters

Controversy
Mojang and their respective ticket sales group, Eventbrite, received controversy for the system of purchasing tickets this year. The three batches were swiftly sold out (the first within three seconds), and while they were purchased, the text "Pending" showed while the website didn't handle well (Eventbrite). Because of this, many tweets of controversy appeared, mostly under the hashtag "Minecon", and a Change.org petition was made.

Contests
Minecon 2013 hosted an official costume contest and an official build contest - the last time this occurred.

Contestant fyrflies successfully placed in both the Build Contest and the Costume Contest.

Build Contest
The build contest was given the theme of "Halloween" due to the close proximity to the event. The build contest actually ran a few weeks ahead of the convention itself - with the winners being announced at the closing ceremony.

Tewkesape/theo_the_ape is the only participant to have placed in the top three for both the 2013 and 2012 official build contests.

Videos
Videos can be found here.