The game is brilliant by design!
I appreciate the fact that WoW did not detail the World of Warcraft like EQ2, because then it would have taken 30-50 GBs of space, and the hardware requirements would have alienated 1/2 of the player base.
This game was designed to entertain a lot of people because it offers elements that appeal to a wide audience... colorful graphics, vivid sounds and music, smooth gameplay, varied terrain, large volume of quests that are not just glorified 'mail runs'.
Honestly, I'm a 'very' casual player... I've just taken my gnome warrior to level 60 ... three years after I started him. I went the 'South Park' route, and killed the 'yard trash' in just about every zone currently in the game until I reached 60. Now, I group with my wife's 60 priest and her guild mates, and I'm finally getting to see these 'raid' zones I've heard so much about... heh!
Someday, I might actually do some of the quests...