Welcome BACK, Alice!
Mine is a Military family too, and I can confirm that activating your
U.S. Military Promotional Tickets the day/night before your first Walt Disney World Resort Theme Park day is a solid plan. We try to do this every trip as it's one less thing to do the morning of your very first Disney Day.
You're more than welcome to validate these tickets at any
Guest Relations location in the days leading up to your Walt Disney World Resort Vacation. Guest Relations windows and offices can be found just outside the entrance of all four of Disney's theme parks, both water parks, and at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex. The Disney Springs location is in the Town Center area near the Disney Resort Hotel Bus Stop. Each of these locations remains open until the listed hours for that area's daily operating time. That's really vague, but because the hours of each location change based on the time of year and even the day of the week, know that the Disney Springs location is usually the latest open option of at least 10 P.M. daily. (When looking at the
Disney Springs Calendar for your vacation time frame, go by the non-late night hours. I would also recommend getting there at least an hour before they close, if not as soon as you arrive to Disney Springs as there is so much to do and explore, I'd hate for you to get side tracked and then miss getting your tickets validated altogether.)
Bonus Tip: There's a U.S. Military discount on
Disney's Memory Maker! For the rest of 2018 the 'Starts Immediately' version is $98. Ask about it when validating your tickets.
We'll See You Real Soon, Alice!
~Kristen