Welcome to planDisney, Melissa.
Oh, bother. I'm sorry to hear that you've had difficulty making
dining reservations for your kids' birthdays. Reservations open 60 days in advance of your trip and those popular table service restaurants can fill up fast, especially during busy times of the year.
Unfortunately, there's no way to wave a magic wand and make a dining reservation appear. Therefore, I'd encourage you to
keep checking, I mean, continue to search for availability in the build-up to your trip. Melissa, for a whole variety of reasons, people's plans change and they often cancel their reservations. This especially happens in the few days leading up to your visit (including the day of your visit). In my experience, unless you're trying to make a reservation for a particularly large group, I think you might find availability closer to your trip. So don't despair just yet!
If you find yourself still without a reservation on the day of your trip, you can still take advantage of the
Mobile Dine Walk-Up option. Basically, this allows you to walk up to a participating restaurant and effectively put your name down. If the restaurant can suddenly fit you in during that day, they'll "call your name" (i.e. send you a notification) and you'll be able to dine at the restaurant.
Here's how you use Mobile Dine Walk-Up. First,
check to see if your desired restaurant is participating. Then, on the day of your visit, arrive at the theme park as soon as it opens. Head straight to your desired restaurant and join the walk-up list by scanning the QR code located near the restaurant entrance. The main downside to this method is that you'll just have to be flexible when it comes to the time you'd like to eat. This doesn't guarantee you a reservation, but I know many people who've been able to secure a table this way.
I hope that's helpful, Melissa. Thanks so much for stopping by planDisney. I hope your kids have the most magical birthdays at The Happiest Place on Earth.
Mike