Resort dining is a very complicated & tricky part of the Entertainment department at WDW. Since many, many CMs moved on to different journeys in life after the COVID-19 layoffs, I unfortunately find it understandable that the ability to manage 1900PF the way they used to is not possible at this current moment -- I have hope that there's a future where this change is reverted and the old characters return, especially if this meal continues to be unpopular in the long run.
The longer I think about this, the more I wonder how much of this was a true executive creative decision and how much of it was Resort Ops and Entertainment having to come together on a solution for getting 1900 Park Fare up and running as a character dining experience as quickly as possible.