I think you'll find that the 2011 MBP is similarly afflicted. Try streaming 720p video using a flash-based delivery method (e.g. YouTube); the fans will be roaring at high speed in no time (granted, the consensus seems to be that Macs don't play well with Flash for some unknown reason). Spinning up a VM, doing work in Photoshop, or playing most games will elicit the same response. Don't get me wrong, I love my MBP but you don't have to work it too hard before it needs to aggressively cool itself.
Try using a stand mine never gets hot or never has the fans roaring regardless if I'm using handbrake or other video converters