to the DIS! POFQ has lots of fans, and there is a thread on the Resorts Board that will familiarize you with the resort and answer any questions you might have. The moderate resorts have a nice mix of extra amenities compared to the values at a more reasonable price than the deluxes. It depends what you want in a resort and how much time you will spend at the resort vs. the parks.
Discounts have not yet been released for October (except for possible
AAA discounts). You can book room only with Disney or a package (which would typically include tickets and may or may not include the Dining Plan). You can keep watching for discounts on the Codes and Rates subforum on the resort board or at Mousesavers.com. Even after you have booked your trip, you can call to apply discounts if they are available for your resort, dates and room type.
The Theme Parks board will give you more info about attractions, parades, fireworks, etc. The Food and Wine Festival happens at Epcot in October, and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is an after hours event at Magic Kingdom that requires a separate ticket. Magic Kingdom will close early on Halloween party days, so the party dates are good to know even if you don't plan to attend (I haven't seen any dates for the party yet, but they will be posted on the Theme Parks board when they are released).
There is a great sticky at the top of the Theme Parks board that explains the various tickets that are available.
The Restaurants board will help you understand how to make dining reservations (Reservations subforum), whether or not the dining plan is right for you (Dining Plan subforum), and which restaurants you might want to try (main restaurants forum and reviews subforum). You can make dining reservations 180 days in advance, and popular restaurants fill quickly. If you check in October 13, your 180 day mark is April 16, so you have a few months to figure out where you might like to eat. It's hard to know where you will be six months in advance, but it's good to make a reservations at any place that you know you want to try. Disney rarely has space for walk-ups at the most popular restaurants.
The Budget Board helps you save money for your trip by cutting costs in your daily life, and it helps you save money on your trip by pointing out ways to save money at Disney.
I'd just pick a spot and start reading - you'll learn so much, so fast!
Besides the DIS, allears.net is a great resource for general planning and mousesavers.com is a great resource for getting the most for your money. Easywdw is another great planning website that was started by a DISer.
Happy planning!
