I helped a buddy of mine do the floors in our house a couple of years ago (65 year old oak floors). They came out beautifully, and it really wasn't a huge deal. The key to making it painless is, of course, the right tools -- in this case, he had the giant drum sander, another rotary sander (looks like a floor buffer), hand sanders, and scrapers for the corners.
If the big drum sander has a big vacuum attached, it really won't be too dusty. We did vacuum an entire trash bag of sawdust during the drum sanding. We mopped the floors, then did all of the staining in perhaps two hours. A day to dry, then the first coat of poly. Dry a day, sand with the rotary sander using a screen (not very dusty), mop, repeat. Three coats total, took about a week.
There is some skill to running the big drum sander; it has to stay moving or it will leave visible depressions. Start somewhere that will be covered if possible, like under a bed. :-)