Spoil the surprise?

I'm going to try to not be like everyone else. Cataclysm is coming. Any fool knows that. Beta is on it's way. If you haven't opted in for it, and you want in on the beta, be sure to do it now. I'm going to bring up a less-discussed topic. How do you fight these "end of expansion blues"? Some people roll alts. Some people take breaks from the game. Some people satisfy their time by devouring every single tidbit of information about Cataclysm that they can. Here's the question though, and it's something that was brought up in portion by Brigwyn on his first podcast earlier this evening.
The question is, should we obsess over every piece of Cataclysm we can get our greedy little claws on? Is it right for us to play the beta into an endless oblivions so we know all the content backwards and forwards before the live release? Or, when we do these things, do we cheat ourselves from the surprise? Do we deny ourselves the wonder of seeing the finely polished product as Blizzard intends it to be seen, when we see the beta "warts and all"? It's honestly something I hadn't thought about previously, but it really is something to consider.
Now, I've only been playing for a couple years, towards the end of Burning Crusade, and I was never involved with the beta for Wrath of the Lich King. I will never forget the first time I took my mage, Achloryn, aboard the boat from Stormwind and stepped on the shores of the Borean Tundra. Hell, even playing through the scourge invasion events prior to the launch really gave you a feel for what was coming. Read through the text of the first few quests when you arrive in Northrend. Blizzard does a magnificent job of giving you the sense that the first soliders really breathe a collective sigh of relief that you are there. YOU. The generals and commanders of the spearhead are glad to see you there.
I'm getting off topic more than I intended, but I think you get the point. Are we doing ourselves a disservice by spoiling all the surprises? Well, there's no real right or wrong answer to that, of course, because it's all in personal preferences. I'm as guilty as the next man, and probably everyone else, when it comes to reading up on the spoilers and all the other goodies. Now, however, after a lot of thought, I think i'm going to hold myself back a little bit. I want to be able to experience the new quests with my hunter on the day of the launch and experience it as amazingly as I felt when I first stepped onto Northrend.
Now, if i'm given a beta key, you better believe i'll be there.... let's not get crazy.