Hey there, Julie! Thanks for stopping by the Disney Parks Moms Panel with your question. I see that your vacation is right around the corner. I bet you are getting so excited!
To be able to dine at a restaurant located inside of a
Walt Disney World Theme Park, you do need valid theme park admission that day to enter the park. You would, in fact, need to use one of your day park passes. However, there are many restaurants located at the
Walt Disney World Resort Hotels and
Disney Springs that you could eat at without having to have theme park admission. Some of my favorites are:
My list could go on and on. Actually, my family and I really enjoy eating most of our meals outside of the theme parks. It's a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle plus there are some really great options. With a standard base ticket, keep in mind you can leave and re-enter the same Walt Disney World Theme Park as many times in one day that you'd like. So it would be no problem to enjoy one of the parks, leave to have dinner and then go back to the same park for the nighttime firework show.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to come back and ask.