I'm going to leave this thread. Moderators, please delete this thread if you see this. It is clear that no one is able to have a discussion about the perceived problems and instead this thread simply boils down to a large flame fest. I think it is an issue and should be discussed, but clearly the maturity level on these forums can't get away from one sided flaming and bashing. I'm just going to leave this thread with this quote which I think sums up my concerns pretty well:

Quote Originally Posted by JimboTCB View Post
Personally, I'm looking forward to approximately one week after 3.0 when the forums will get flooded with brand new players who've just hit 50 and are all hyped to finally get into the expansion they just bought the game on the basis of, only to find out they've got a hundred-odd quests of pointless busywork and redundant old dungeons to slog through first.

It's a horrible design decision that the ravening fanboys on the forums will defend to the end and shout down anyone who dares to suggest that the game should be anything other than completely unwelcoming and inaccessible for brand new players. It's bad enough that the new jobs (which, again, are a major selling point of the expansion) are gated behind 2.55 completion, but gating the new zones behind it as well is certain to make for a horrible new player experience.