Something I've always wondered... Back on the day, how much did people know about what waited at the end? Nowadays, we know almost everything before it's even released, but back then...
Another fun bit of trivia: both instances are farmed for their trash drops which contain rare vanilla sets. Ruins in particular is the best source for Glorious Legplates.
I remember farming NR for the Huhuran fight (plenty of Dire Maul runs). We ran as a raid syndicate on our server - several smaller RP guilds co-operating to form a raid group. It worked pretty well; we got as far as Twin Emps before TBC dropped.
I am not looking forward to classic servers. There are so many things that made vanilla great (dungeon and raid loot was difficult to obtain and you stood apart from other players, more options for talent customisation, end game professions were rewarding both in gear and money) but there are so many better elements that exist today. Plus being more casual these days compared to end game raiding in vanilla, I actually rely and enjoy the LFR system so I can experience end game.
Great post! Congrats!