For the record, the lottery isn't for entry into the park. Everyone can enter the park but ordinarily, you are only permitted to drive your own vehicle to the 12(?) mile gate and only the park tourist buses can drive farther in. The lottery winners are permitted to drive their own vehicles into the park past the gate, all the way to Wonder Lake. Denali is so beautiful in the fall, that it is worth a trip even if you cannot drive past the 12 mile gate.
Also, while my timing was not right to see the foliage in the southern part of the state, I have been told that is very beautiful too.