yeah, i say don't go with the backup. I logged on for the first time last night, and there is ice and snow everywhere. I found it absolutely hilarious.
Also, once Runecraft is back someone can just make a bunch of icepicks and harvest all the ice (and get ice blocks that are placeable from it). I had had an idea of making an ice castle surrounded by a lava moat a while ago, but never got around to making the ice picks with Runecraft. Now, I have incentive if I ever want to be able to take the water route out of my tower.
(Only thing is, the water level everywhere may decrease by 1 block. Im not 100% about that, but I think it makes sense if it does go down a bit)