Over the past 4 years, we've done 2 Disney cruises on the Fantasy, 2 trips to WDW, 2 trips to DLR, and 1 trip to Aulani.
While none of the comparisions are apples to apples, we'd probably put DCL roughly on par with a well-planned WDW trip at the deluxe level (i.e., staying at a deluxe resort with DxDP-style dining) as the best overall vacation, closely followed by Aulani, which we'd put a bit above DLR at the deluxe level (i.e., staying at GCH or DLH while eating at the best DLR restaurants).
Pros of DCL:
-Highest overall level of service of all of the options (and it's not close)
-Has the most all-inclusive feel
-More relaxing (and less scheduled) than theme park oriented vacations
-Easy to plan the vacation (for example, no dining reservations, if you're content sticking with the rotation)
-Traveling on a huge, fancy ship for your whole vacation is a really fun adventure
-Less expensive sailings provide arguably the best bang for the buck of all of the options
-Castaway Cay (if on a Caribbean itenerary)
Cons of DCL:
-Deck and common areas are typically more crowded than land-based resorts
-Can sometimes be sligthly hard to sleep if seas are rough
-Standard staterooms, while very nice, are smaller than land-based resort hotel rooms
-Most of the excursions are either medicore or overpriced (or both)
-Unless you're in port, you're confined on a ship
-Being pushed off the ship on departure day
Pros of WDW:
-Greatest variety of resort and dining options
-Tons to see and do with four theme parks and two water parks
-Transportation between the airport and WDW included as part of your resort stay (Magical Express)
-Signature dining provides slightly higher food quality than cruise ship rotational dining
-Arguably the most immersive land-based vacation experience on the planet
Cons of WDW:
-Requires, by far, the most planning (ADRs, FP+, etc.)
-Some dining experiences can be nearly impossible to book
-Generally requires being more scheduled (and less spontaneous) than the other options
-Getting around the place, due to it's size, can be time-consuming (and sometimes frustrating)
-For nearly half of the year, it can be oppressively hot and humid
-Crowds are insane at peak times
Pros of Aulani:
-Far more relaxing (and less scheduled) than theme park oriented vacations
-Easy to plan the vacation
-Has teriffic combination of water-oriented recreation (pools, lazy river, water slides, hot tubs, beach, snorkeling lagoon)
-The dining choices, from an atmosphere and quality standopint, are good for what they are
-Most consistent year-round weather of all of the options
Cons of Aulani:
-Expensive and time-consuming to travel to (unless you live in Hawaii)
-Has, overall, fewer entertainment options than cruises or theme-park oriented vacations
-Limited (and relatively expensive) on-site dining options
-Common resort areas (especially around the pools) can be very crowded during peak times
-No Disney-provided transportation from airport (and ridiculous daily parking fee if not a DVC member)
Pros of DLR:
-The quality of the ride attractions are, overall, slightly better than WDW
-Easier to navigate than WDW (everything is within walking distance, including cheap off-site hotels)
-Requires less planning than WDW (can be more spontaneous)
-Better overall weather than WDW (less rain and humidity)
-Nostalgia factor (Walt's original park)
Cons of DLR:
-Least immersive of all of the options (even if you stay on property)
-On-property hotel and dining choices are much more limited than WDW
-Not as set up for focusing an entire week vacation as the other options (more of a 2-5 day place)
-Paper fastpass system virtually requires rope dropping
-No Disney-provided transportation from airport (and ridiculous on-site hotel daily parking fee if not a DVC member)
-Crowds are insane at peak times
While none of the comparisions are apples to apples, we'd probably put DCL roughly on par with a well-planned WDW trip at the deluxe level (i.e., staying at a deluxe resort with DxDP-style dining) as the best overall vacation, closely followed by Aulani, which we'd put a bit above DLR at the deluxe level (i.e., staying at GCH or DLH while eating at the best DLR restaurants).
Pros of DCL:
-Highest overall level of service of all of the options (and it's not close)
-Has the most all-inclusive feel
-More relaxing (and less scheduled) than theme park oriented vacations
-Easy to plan the vacation (for example, no dining reservations, if you're content sticking with the rotation)
-Traveling on a huge, fancy ship for your whole vacation is a really fun adventure
-Less expensive sailings provide arguably the best bang for the buck of all of the options
-Castaway Cay (if on a Caribbean itenerary)
Cons of DCL:
-Deck and common areas are typically more crowded than land-based resorts
-Can sometimes be sligthly hard to sleep if seas are rough
-Standard staterooms, while very nice, are smaller than land-based resort hotel rooms
-Most of the excursions are either medicore or overpriced (or both)
-Unless you're in port, you're confined on a ship
-Being pushed off the ship on departure day
Pros of WDW:
-Greatest variety of resort and dining options
-Tons to see and do with four theme parks and two water parks
-Transportation between the airport and WDW included as part of your resort stay (Magical Express)
-Signature dining provides slightly higher food quality than cruise ship rotational dining
-Arguably the most immersive land-based vacation experience on the planet
Cons of WDW:
-Requires, by far, the most planning (ADRs, FP+, etc.)
-Some dining experiences can be nearly impossible to book
-Generally requires being more scheduled (and less spontaneous) than the other options
-Getting around the place, due to it's size, can be time-consuming (and sometimes frustrating)
-For nearly half of the year, it can be oppressively hot and humid
-Crowds are insane at peak times
Pros of Aulani:
-Far more relaxing (and less scheduled) than theme park oriented vacations
-Easy to plan the vacation
-Has teriffic combination of water-oriented recreation (pools, lazy river, water slides, hot tubs, beach, snorkeling lagoon)
-The dining choices, from an atmosphere and quality standopint, are good for what they are
-Most consistent year-round weather of all of the options
Cons of Aulani:
-Expensive and time-consuming to travel to (unless you live in Hawaii)
-Has, overall, fewer entertainment options than cruises or theme-park oriented vacations
-Limited (and relatively expensive) on-site dining options
-Common resort areas (especially around the pools) can be very crowded during peak times
-No Disney-provided transportation from airport (and ridiculous daily parking fee if not a DVC member)
Pros of DLR:
-The quality of the ride attractions are, overall, slightly better than WDW
-Easier to navigate than WDW (everything is within walking distance, including cheap off-site hotels)
-Requires less planning than WDW (can be more spontaneous)
-Better overall weather than WDW (less rain and humidity)
-Nostalgia factor (Walt's original park)
Cons of DLR:
-Least immersive of all of the options (even if you stay on property)
-On-property hotel and dining choices are much more limited than WDW
-Not as set up for focusing an entire week vacation as the other options (more of a 2-5 day place)
-Paper fastpass system virtually requires rope dropping
-No Disney-provided transportation from airport (and ridiculous on-site hotel daily parking fee if not a DVC member)
-Crowds are insane at peak times
Just love it especially at sea. Anyway thanks for taking the time for such a thorough comparison. 
