I would have to agree, the hardest part of vanilla was the lack of knowledge, what gear, what consumables, what mechanics. Really it wasnt that hard till Naxx.
The rest of it was a time sink, farming gear for the raid team, farming mats for consumables, farming money.
Not really a good or bad thing as far as im concerned. Making something hard to someone with 15 years of doing the content seems silly thou, especially if you want people who never had a chance to jump in at the start to get a chance of experiancing the game.