Great post, and you're totally spot-on with your review. I thought Cata was okay, but I definitely wasn't impressed by it. However, I thought Firelands and Stonecore in Deepholm were pretty well-designed (or maybe I just got used to them given all the mount runs I've done in them). I definitely agree about Dragon Soul, for me that one is the most annoying raid since The Eye in TK.
RE: World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm Review and Retrospect - The first failure by Blizzard in Warcraft.