Help on the best way to do dinning reservations when not staying on property

I think you will be fine as long as you do it on the 180 day mark. For an upcoming trip I missed the 180 mark by a few days and still got everything I wanted including BOG.

I don't see why you would not be able to get any of those choices at the 180 day mark. Also Boma is in the Animal Kingdom lodge, not the park and we have walked in for breakfast on numerous occasions without a reservation and had no problem getting in.

I would say be flexible with your times. Also, if something is not available at the 180 mark, keep checking back! I had a friend that I was helping do her dining reservations. She wanted a BOG dinner reservation for 6 and we weren't booking until closer to the 160 day mark and of course nothing was available. I used the TouringPlan.com reservation finder and sure enough, a few weeks later a 6pm reservation popped up!

We've even used the Disney app while there to snag rezzies that pop up at the last minute.

What did you end up with?

Kathys booking dining, especially in the free dining range, can be tough. Touring Plans reservation finder has been heaven sent for me. They'll send you an email or text as soon as the restaurant you are looking for becomes available in the range you want and you can jump on it. People change plans all the time!