[Tarrek]

Cata wasn't the best expansion, but saying that pandas will ruin wow without having played the expansion is just being stubborn. We have walking cows, zombies, walking goats, werewolves, purple elves, and midgets. Pandas are NOT too silly for the game. Whether the expansion will be better than Cata has yet to be seen, but giving up without giving it a try and actually advocating against it isn't the right course of action in an adult world. If it isn't for you, than that's all good, but saying it is a bad game or anything of the kind is simply wrong. There wouldn't still be millions of players if that was the case.
Also, you can't go to level 90 or make a monk without the expansion. You also can't level up any professions, use the new pet battle system, go to the new zones, or use any of the other new features. The only thing you can do without the expansion is make a pandarin and level it to 85.
In my experience, BC was the worst expansion. Leveling through Outlands is the most boring thing I have done in the game. LK was above average, with decent leveling and decent dungeons, and Cata was about the same with the exception of the new 1 - 58 zones, those being fantastic. Leveling through the new Cata zones , both the 1 - 58, and the 80 - 85, is much better than the previous versions. From what I've seen, the new MoP zones are much the same if not better in that regard. They have also implemented some group quests similar to Guild Wars 2's questing where everyone, even if not in a group, contributes towards the goal(I don't know how many, but I know there are a few). Basically what I am saying is, while Cata was a bit of a slow down, the game is better than it was in the earlier versions (Vanilla and BC.) This is coming from experience both in the game, and in the industry.