This morning at midnight on the West Coast (that’s 3am EST), the new World of Warcraft expansion went live in the United States (after launching earlier for European servers). For the hardcore WoW players who are itching to get their raid on, their Cataclysm experience might have started with dashing over to the new zone of Mount Hyjal to see the new world and start grinding toward the new 85 level cap. Or for those not in as much of a hurry, the bigger draw might have been rolling new characters of the two new races – Worgen for Alliance (translation: werewolves) and Goblin for Horde. And if you’d like more info than that, you can find pretty much anything you’d like to know over at WoW Insider’s Cataclysm page.

Though I can’t help but feel a little sorry for college student WoW players who are probably right in the middle of finals right now. Of course, if you’re playing hooky from work, watch out for those sick day bounty hunters!

So if you’re a WoW player who already has your hands on the expansion, what do you think? And what was the first thing YOU did once you got it installed?

My verdict?  With the hour I had allotted to try it out, I can say that the Worgen starting area is neat (if incredibly crowded for the time being), and both the Worgen and Goblin female dances are adorable.  Also apparently Goblins are from Brooklyn and Worgen are from London.

And in closing, here’s a nifty new machinima video to commemorate the event: