I disagree.
I'm having fun now, safe in the knowledge that if I die I have a ton of spare stuff in my nice house I spent ages building.
Rebuilding is annoying, and IS boring if you have to mine, cut and smelt all the materials and blocks to rebuild your home.
Besides, the only things 1.3 brings that would be 'missed' are different villages, stupid one-time-interest TNT temples and emeralds.
Who cares about them? The rest is just additional content that can be crafted in some way or another.