I spent the weekend with 12,000 Minecraft fans and it was amazing

Over the weekend, I made my way down to Anaheim, California, right on Disneyland's doorstep, for Minecon 2016 - the fifth annual gathering of Minecraft players and enthusiasts from all over the world.

I went in not sure what to expect: I play Minecraft with my nephews, but I had never been around so many other Minecraft fans before, and I'm not what you'd call a super-fan.

With an estimated 12,000 Minecraft lovers in attendance, this was digging myself in deeper than ever before. Still, it means that just about two years after Microsoft bought Minecraft developer Mojang for $2.5 billion, the game's growth has not slowed down whatsoever.

The first thing I learned was that Minecraft videos on YouTube are serious business. Any time YouTube was even mentioned, the sheer level of cheering and clapping from the many kids in attendance felt like being at an Elvis Presley/One Direction double bill concert.

But the bigger thing I came away with was just how much Minecraft means to the kids of the world, and how much of a family affair the game really is. If nothing else, I'm more convinced than ever that Minecraft is here to stay for a very long time.

Here's what it was like on the ground at Minecon 2016.