Elaine-
They announced public codes--good for anyone--today. The discount is for packages at this time...(no room only discounts were announced today). So that would mean you need room & tickets. Yesterday AP rates were announced though so maybe that will help you if you haven't already checked on that.

The Disney website was updated to reflect the discounts so if you want to play around the site to see what you can get, go to Tickets & Reservations, then Special Offers & then select the 4night/5 day Fall Special...or something like that.

When the offers come up, they will say something like Oct-Dec Rates. You can book online or you can book through a TA or Disney. However, since you won't need tickets it would only be a package if you each got at least a 1 day base ticket (assuming you're all staying in the same room).

Hope this helps!