Except in UC, you can’t see how many enemy players there are near the fire until you’re right in the middle of them, thanks to that little wall in the “gate” you have to go around.
I love the way the timing of the boat from Auberdine matches up so well with my belf paladin’s speed when she’s on an epic mount and has her Crusader Aura turned on: Get off the boat, ride directly through the portal, ride straight through Darnassus and out into Teldrassil, ride directly to Dolanaar, put out the fire (or whatever holiday thing you’re trying to do), remount and ride straight back the way you came, and when you get back to Rut’theran Village, there’s the boat waiting for you again. It hasn’t been sitting there the whole time - it’s traveled back to Auberdine at least once, and the timing just works out great. My pally never has to stop or wait at all. The only danger is the chance that a guard in Darnassus might get a lucky hit that dismounts her.
The hardest part is getting on the boat in Auberdine, but I found a good way to do that, too. I found a spot just on the forest-side edge of Auberdine, next to a small building directly across from one of the entrances to the inn. You can sit there on your mount without getting PvP flagged, and none of the guards will aggro … and you can see the boat arriving from Teldrassil (you can’t see the dock - you see the boat crossing the last bit of sea). As soon as you see the boat, just ride straight into and through the inn, race down the dock, and you can get onto the boat just as it’s pulling in.