As someone who regularly visits both DLR and WDW (former local DLR APer, current long-distance WDW APer) I think the CMs are one of the biggest differences between the two. DLR CMs are capable and adequate, but rarely put in the extra effort the way that so many WDW CMs do.
In large part, I think the CMs play to the audience at each park. WDW guests tend to be one-in-a-lifetime or very-infrequent visitors, so those short conversations like "What's you're favorite ride?" tend to go over very well. WDW guests also tend to be around for longer and (partly due to the attraction rosters in each park) have more time to spend chatting and having unexpected encounters
On the flip side, DLR guests tend to visit every few years, if not more regularly. Many APers wait in line for an attraction more often than they wait in line to checkout at the grocery store; conversations about what they plan to do that day are often fruitless. Visits tend to be short (whether a few hours for a local APer or a couple days for out-of-towners) and focus on cramming as many rides in as possible
Even interactions between guests varies widely from one resort to the next. When was the last time anybody here struck up a conversation with the group next to them in line at DLR, and became temporary friends for the next 20 minutes? That sort of thing happens all the time in WDW, where everybody is out having fun on vacation simultaneously and sharing tips for must-do's, but rarely in DLR, which some people use as a babysitter for their bored kids.
Some of this is because of CM demographics. WDW pulls employees from all over (across the country for the College Program, around the world for the International Program, and assorted retirees/snowbirds) who realize it's a major vacation destination, so they better understand that everybody is looking for something a little different. DLR mostly has soCal kids who grew up with the parks in their backyard, who take it for granted at times (like a lot of guests)
Yes, WDW can have a lot of the phony "magic", but I've found it's also very easy to have meaningful conversations with CMs. It seems like we find ourselves having unexpected interactions multiple times a day in WDW; I've only had it happen once or twice at DLR. DLR CMs bypass the cheesy stuff, but rarely have more than a superficial interest in your experience, which I think comes down a lot more to the California culture
Did you visit anywhere other than DLR on your visit? Did you notice a similarly laid-back/disinterested attitude in workers there? Southern California is home to the most consistently-slow "fast food" I've ever experienced; service in other places can be equally abysmal...I mean, laid back, dude! But it's just part of the culture. In that framework, the DLR CMs seem pretty good, but I agree that my memorable experiences at DLR rarely come from individual CMs
