hercules029 -
Not to scare you, but yes 216 was THE beast!! The reason is because the questions on 216 fall into all kinds of categories: end-user support issues, network engineering and administration, security issues, web crap, and of course AD. From one question to the next you are jumping from one mindset to the other in order to solve each problem. Make sure you're ready for all of these areas.
I think that the design exams are different, not harder than regular exams.
When I began taking Microsoft tests it took a revelation before I felt confident that (although I passed the tests), I was fully competent in understanding all the MCSE concepts. That revelation came when I passed 70-216.
Good Luck,
--
Mike
Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else -- unless it is an enemy. - A. Einstein