Hi Amy! It's so great to hear from you again! Keep an eye on the
Special Offers page of the Disney website, and maybe the discounted resort rate offer you're hoping for will appear in a few months. The Free Dining offer has been extended for selected dates through next summer -- it's not available for your trip dates, but you can book it for early March and late May if those spring dates work for your schedule.
For your April 29th trip, you're right you can begin making your dining reservations 180 days in advance, which would be on October 31. If you've made your resort reservation by that date, you'll be able to make dining reservations for your entire trip on October 31.
The earlier you book, the better chance you have of getting the days and times you desire. If you're an early riser, visit
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/ and make your reservations online first thing in the morning. If you're flexible about your dining times, I don't think you'll have any problem reserving Cinderella's Royal Table or Chef Mickey's. Now that the princesses appear at lunch and dinner, in addition to breakfast, scoring a table at Cinderella's Royal Table isn't as hard as it used to be. I often visit Disney in late April and early May, and I've always been able to make a breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's even at the last minute. If you can't get a table at a restaurant, the key is persistence -- keep checking, even the night before your desired dining time, and you'll usually find an opening due to another guest cancelling. (The two restaurants I seem to have the most difficulty getting in are Le Cellier and 'Ohana -- book those first if you're interested in them!)
Sending you pixie dust that you'll get the reservations you want! You and your little daughter are going to have a grand time!