Hurray! I love this idea. Also, this island seems to have no flying again. Another one, hmm.
This strange form of gating is really just another sign that Blizz is trying to appease the hardcore competitive elitist crowd (which I will shamelessly admit I am a part of) alongside the whingy casual crowd. I hope Blizzard stops trying to please everyone with this convoluted design and, in the next expansion, goes back to a style of game with a bit of substance to it. Grinding easy content has never been fun. Playing through challenging content that makes you think is infinitely more fun, imo.