As others have said, you need a park ticket to get into Epcot to eat in the restaurants. When we were at Disney in September, we had park hopper tickets, which allowed us to go to whatever multiple parks each day.
You really need to make reservations before you go if you can figure out where you want to eat.....and most restaurants have a 24-hour cancellation policy, so if you make reservations now and then change your mind, you won't be penalized (a few restaurants have a 48-hour cancelation policy).
We ate at a number of restaurants in Epcot - Rose & Crown is great if you get a later reservation (8:30) and are seated outside to watch the fireworks; Le Cellier is really good food; Biergarten wasn't impressive food, but was lots of fun; Coral Reef is nice for lunch; and we all enjoyed the Princess Breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway, although the food was medicore.
As someone else said, the resort restaurants are also goood....the Wave in the Contemporary has really good food; California Grille at the Contemporary is really, really good; Yachtsman Steakhouse was excellent too.
Most of the character meals are so-so food IMO....you're there for the characters more than the food.....the lunch in the castle with Cinderella was good food though, but getting a reservation is difficult.
Hope you have a great trip!
