I don't think it's very fair to say the group isn't passionate about Disney. Ok maybe John doesn't exactly exude passion, but the podcast crew seems to have dedicated their lives around it, so I don't think that's the issue.
Facing facts, Pete was a very unique talent and that hole is yet to be filled. They should have recognized this earlier (as many on the boards did) and made changes. Moving Ryno to host and bringing in Hannah were small wins - but there is still some work to be done IMO.
We are all passionate in our ways and I think for some of us, it doesn't show as well. The parks, movies, music, etc are not just my job but also my passion and hobbies. I also, unfortunately, have an extremely dry presence and flat affect which does play off like I hate everything about Disney.
Ryno fully admits that while he loves Disney/Star Wars/Marvel, he tries to stay in a mindset of "this isn't my hobby, this is my work" and I think his enthusiasm can be lacking at times because of that, but it shines when he surrounds himself with others who bring the enthusiasm out of him.
That "work" mindset was a benefit for us in the past. It was a wall to keep work lives from impeding our social lives, which many other former employees couldn't keep separated or chose not to keep separate. That is good and all, but the wall has an impact that becomes glaring when YouTubers/podcasters/hobbyists continue to start up every day and exude more passion and enthusiasm.
As for recognizing needing a big personality earlier, we did. I first started approaching our former employer about this over the pandemic. Our most productive period was from 2016 - 2020 and I believe that's because we had a great group of people making a lot of content and we all brought something different to the table. The flagship show was anchored by one big personality, but the rest of the content which was just as popular and sometimes even more, was filled out by the rest of us.
When I first saw signs of leveling off for multiple reasons, the first thing I suggested was bringing in a new personality that could carry the ship. Our former employer didn't agree and thought the team he assembled had more than enough personality and if he liked us then the people watching and listening would too. Also, he was still there as the anchor so why would we need two big personalities?
I'm not saying that to slight anyone who currently works with us or has come and gone. I think most of us would admit that we were always strongest as a team rather than one person carrying the load. As an ensemble, I think we all play an important part. That being said, you also can't underestimate the importance of someone who has the "it" factor and if you can't find that person then you have to stack the cast even bigger to make up for it and change it from supporting players to a true ensemble.
I'm not sure if we'll ever find a person with the "it" factor because if they have "it" then they are probably doing their own thing very successfully and don't need to look for a position on our team. I think there's one prime example of this from the past couple of years that makes me believe it will be hard to find an "it" person who doesn't want to own their own business. On the opposite spectrum, they might be doing it as a hobby and have a full-time job they'd prefer to keep.
We are in the process of adding to our team which will take time, but if we even find a couple more people with outspoken personalities like Hannah, I think we'll have a very good group that can balance each other out and doesn't need to rely on "the one voice."
TLDR; I think we'll be more beneficial as a company by finding the right ensemble of enthusiastic people versus filling a void.