Hi Gregory,
Welcome to planDisney!
The best answer I can give right now is that it depends. Your ability to visit a dining location in a resort hotel that is not where you are staying could depend on whether or not that location is open and there is
Mobile Dine Walk-up Availability. To check Mobile Dine Walk-up Availability in the app, click on the plus sign towards the bottom of the screen, click on Check Dining Availability, enter the number of Guests, select the current day, and then select the time slot that says "Now." Note also that some dining locations may have walk-up availability not visible in the mobile app.
I would recommend that you make
advanced dining reservations. Check the
dining updates to review which restaurants are currently open.
California Grill is open and we had a lovely dinner there on our most recent visit. With advanced dining reservations, you could also potentially make a reservation at
Narcoossee's. It's located at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. On our most recent visit, we had a table with a lovely window view. Remember also that there are several
dining locations at Disney's Springs that might be great options for a quick appetizer and drink.
Know that
operational updates may change and your ability to walk-up to a dining location may be affected by the number of people visiting and restaurant capacity. Review the
info about capacity limits at Disney Springs and note that you may not be able to get to a dining location even with an advanced dining reservation if the parking garages are full.
I will add that we also used
Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering on a few days of our last visit. Check the list of participating restaurants and review the menus of those restaurants. On our last visit, we were using the Disney Skyliner to get to an early morning breakfast reservation at Topolino's Terrace - Flavors of the Riviera and Cast Members asked to see our dining reservation info before they let us board the Skyliner. Later in the day, we were able to hop on the Skyliner to get back to Disney's Riviera Resort and look through the gift shop. No one asked if we had a dining reservation.
Gregory, I am sorry that my answer is not more definitive, but I hope it gives you some possibilities. I trust that you will be able to dine at a few lovely locations during your visit!
Magic and memories,
Donyell