Disney Dining and Fastpasses

[PoptartPoptart]

Following on from my previous thread regarding the extortionate quote to stay onsite in a Disney hotel, we are now looking at other options like staying in a villa or on International Drive.
My question is, how many days beforehand can we book to eat at a Disney restaurant?
Obviously we won’t have the dining plan if we stay offsite, but I believe we can still book and pay as we go in a Disney restaurant. I know reservations get very booked up, so how far in advance can we make reservations as an off site guest?
Same question re Fastpasses. We will purchase 14 day Disney tickets in advance (they are offering 14 days for the price of 7 at the moment) but how far in advance can Fastpasses be booked if we are not staying onsite?
Grateful for any knowledgeable advice.
Hopefully @hulababy will see this thread as I know she is very knowledgable about all things Disney

The bonus with dining plan is that character meals are included and these are very pricey without we’d only ever book 1or 2 previously but you could do one every night of your stay.
The trick with Disney is to book in advance - well in advance we booked last April for this summer. Free dining Plan, photopass and $200 gift card.
We book hotel and flights separately.
Don't Forget to factor in parking prices for offsite guests.

We are so organised(anal) about our Disney holidays thing spreadsheets and planning

Also, there’s a really terrific website called www.disneytouristblog.com with oodles of information. We used it extensively before we booked anything.