Best wishes for your husband's upcoming deployment to Iraq. I went to UCSB a ...cough cough ... few years ago. Just down the road from Lompoc. He must be at Vandenberg.
Have you made a final decision on a day trip vs. two-day trip? It sounds like you have decided on one day.
Since you were there at DL recently, you know a bit what to expect. The time frame you are going should not be very crowded, except for perhaps around Halloween. There are several Halloween "nights" for which I think you need special tickets. I have not paid attention to these but you should research this so you do not get surprised and go on the "wrong" day.
With the age range of the kids, it sounds like you may need to consider breaking into two groups for at least part of the day. The younger ones will like FantasyLand of course, and the teenagers will want to go on the thrill rides.
Space Mtn just reopened in July (we went on it four times during our August trip) and it is really cool. It is the most popular ride now, and depending on which day you go it can get pretty crowded.
You will probably want to get FastPasses for Space Mtn and some of the other rides. While your time frame is not high season, you may be able to learn something from my FastPass "thesis"
Getting the Most Out of FastPass During High Season -
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885132
Small World will be closed from Oct 24-Nov 10 to add the Holiday overlay. So you will miss that. It appears that everything else will be up and running.
If you are planning to drive all the way from Lompoc on the morning of your DL visit, that will make it hard to get there early. But you should try very hard to get there as early as possible, as you can get on a lot of rides first thing in the morning.
For about $15 you can buy a 3-month RideMax subscription, which will help you schedule rides. See my feedback
RideMax Critique Plus Conventional and Unconventional Usage on August 1-4 Trip http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885134
If you go mid-week DL may not be showing Fantasmic or the new fireworks show. If you go Fri-Sun they will. Check the DL website schedule. If you have not seen Fantasmic, I would recommend that. If you have, the fireworks are spectacular but are best viewed from the hub where it can be very crowded. You may need to get there at least an hour early.
Have a wonderful trip.