I'd like to add to this thread, as I too am a n00b (I play Guild Wars). I've got a few questions, so I'd really appreciate some answers/comments.
A friend brought me a 14-day trial DVD from the UK when he came down recently. So I installed it, and after 1.2 GIGs of patches (yes), I was up and running. I clicked "suggest realm" and created a character. I realize now that this was a mistake. My character is now on the Alonsus realm, and every evening, I have to wait in the queue, sometimes for hours!

What's weird though, is that my position in the queue goes up and down sometimes, and the time-estimate is horribly innaccurate.
Anyway, the questions follow:
1.) I'm almost level 20. I believe that the trial doesn't let me go further. That true?
2.) I am DEFINITELY buying the game. It is R299 in the shops here, and £9.95 on Amazon.co.uk. Am I correct in assuming that I can just buy it online from Amazon and have it delivered to a friend's house. He can then Email me my key? I don't need the discs as I have the game already, right?
3.) Do you recommend that I abandon this character and switch to a different realm which isn't "full" all the time? Why did WoW suggest it?
4.) What sort of pings should I be getting? In reality, my pings seem to fluctuate around 450-500ms. Are the US servers faster?
5.) How are you guys paying via Credit Card? The only way I've seen that I can get playtime is via "prepaid cards".
Right, I think that's about it. Any comments appreciated guys.