The liveblog of the Dungeons and Raids panel is still underway, but Cory Stockton (lead content designer) and Scott Mercer (lead encounter designer) mentioned a number of changes for classic world dungeons in Cataclysm's first big content patch, 4.1. So far, this is what we know:
* They're going to keep creating wings Utgarde Keep and Utgarde Pinnacle cited as an example of a successful split. They're similar dungeons thematically, but if players had to tackle them both together they'd be pretty arduous.
* Mr. Mercer had an amusing phrase for the whole venture: "I did a pass through all the older dungeons, and we're doing what I call Cutting Out The Suck."
* Graveyards are more convenient No more nightmare 10-minute runs back from a distant graveyard to the depths of a dungeon.
* They're expecting a lot of new players in Cataclysm and they don't want older dungeons to be a roadblock. "We don't want dungeons to be left behind in the redo, we want them to be up-to-par with everything else." Dungeon sections with pointless trash will be trimmed. They should be "Easier for players to understand (and) easier to navigate."
* Dungeons that are confirmed "fixes" so far Uldaman, Maraudon, Sunken Temple, Wailing Caverns and Blackrock Depths.
* Uldaman overhauls The dungeon is being split into two separate wings. Ironaya will be final boss of the first portion of Uldaman; they felt that the epic feel of assembling the staff and opening her room would be a good ending. The latter portion of Uldaman will be accessed through the existing back-door entrance.
* Maraudon overhauls Like Uldaman, it's being split into two: The "living" section and the elemental portion with the Princess.
* Sunken Temple overhauls One of the floors will be cut completely, although this is a change that will ship with Cataclysm rather than with patch 4.1
* Wailing Caverns overhauls "Almost every boss has its own room now." Confusing portions have been cut.
* Blackrock Depths overhauls Teleporters added!
