Hi there Kimberly,
Welcome to planDisney, and thanks for visiting with your question. Your January vacation at Walt Disney World sounds amazing, and I love your plan to enjoy a split stay at two different Disney Resorts. Well done, you!
The answer is yes. You can absolutely choose to pay out of pocket for a table service meal, even when you have the
Disney Dining Plan as part of your vacation package. Here's how the Dining Plan entitlement timing works, since you have this added to both stays. All dining entitlements are loaded into your account on your resort arrival date, as soon as you've checked-in. That means you can start utilizing your Dining Plan credits even before your room is ready (in case that ends up being later in the day). And all credits stay valid through midnight on your check-out day.
This addresses your other question, about whether you can use Dining Plan credits from your second stay on the morning that you will be switching resorts. Another yes! The Dining Plan entitlements for your second stay will be active and available for use that morning, as soon as you complete check-in. This will be your "overlap day", where you can use
any remaining credits left from your first Dining Plan, and/or begin using the new credits from your second Dining Plan.
One easy way to locate your remaining meals and snacks left on your Dining Plan is inside the
My Disney Experience app. From the home screen select the "☰" menu in the lower right corner, scroll to Hotel Reservations, and here you can view the details of your resort stay. One of the blue tabs the bottom is "Check Dining Plan" where it will display what has been redeemed, and what is still available. Make sure you have taken advantage of all those snack credits!
It looks like your advance dining reservation window opened last week, and you are on top of it with some special locations already booked. You are all set to enjoy some magical eats and treats during your stay... woo hoo! Remy would be so proud.
Kimberly, I hope you have an absolutely amazing - and delicious - time at Walt Disney World! Please visit us again at planDisney if we can help in any way.
Bon Appétit!
Tami