I’m not going to jump in on tickets, but will suggest you look at DVC as an option to compare to value or moderate resorts.
I’m planning a trip with my sister (who hasn’t been at WDW since the mid 90s) for early December and we’re renting DVC at Saratoga Springs for $273/night which is cheaper than the reservation we had at Pop ($324/night when we made the reservation, and not currently available to book with the fall/winter discount.) I’ve seen MUCH bigger discounts on DVC rooms for non-December dates, but we’re limited on when we can vacation because of our work schedules. You might want to check out the DVC You There! thread