I've tried other servers for Vanilla and BC. The struggle bus of those xpacs is not for me (in WOTLK I can finally kill both mobs without dying if a second one was pulled by accident), although I started playing retail back in BC. I was undecided between Warmane and another server for WOTLK, but after enough review I decided that all major criticisms of Warmane were over a year old and so it must have been fixed/improved.

After leveling Swishbiscuit, a Gnome Mage, to level 7 on Lordaeron (the seven-times XP boost on Icecrown is tempting but first I'll ease myself into more familiar territory) I came across zero problems - very smooth mechanics

However, starting zones are one of the simplest parts of the game, and so I'll watch out for any issues or mysteries that might come up.

Invite Swishbiscuit to your guild if you'd like a leveling Mage with 11 years of WoW on his belt in your guild. I never set any records but I know what's what and can roll smoothly with a good party/raid group :) I can also heal as a Priest although my raid healing experience is low despite the 11 years on dozens of characters.