Germany with kids (two itineraries)

Day 11: Munich (English Garden, playgrounds, ice cream, Residenz)

I'm almost thinking the Residenz isn't that exciting for children that age. A little princess or prince would probably enjoy Nymphenburg more. There's a playground in the park - the ‘Kronprinzengarten - link to google maps' (in which the children of the royal family actually used to play)

Since you are in the English Garden anyway, you can also visit several playgrounds there (as you mentioned anyway):
https://www.englischer-garten-muenchen-infos.de/en/information-tips-planning/english-garden-playgrounds-the-complete-overview/
The Eisbach Welle may be open again in summer: https://www.munich.travel/en/pois/sports-leisure/eisbachwelle

Maybe the Toy Museum at Marienplatz would be something for your kids: https://www.spielzeugmuseummuenchen.de/en

The zoo sounds great. Cycling south along the Isar River would also be great fun.

The Olympic Park and the BMW Welt/BMW Museum would also be interesting. Unfortunately, the Olympic Tower is currently closed, but I think the park would still be fun for kids. https://www.munich.travel/en/pois/sports-leisure/olympiapark

I've heard that kids have a lot of fun at the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum (Transport Museum) : https://www.munich.travel/en/pois/arts-culture/deutsches-museum-verkehrszentrum
No idea if it's because of the museum itself or the big snail in front of it: https://stadtgeschichte-muenchen.de/sehenswert/d_sehenswert.php?id=3059

If you have just arrived in Germany from a long flight, really suggest you stay overnight in Frankfurt. With small kids, the last thing you want to do is sit in a train with a couple of train changes for several more hours and certainly not drive with jet lag. Were you bringing car seats for both kids?

There are wonderful playgrounds in Frankurt (at the Zoo or the Palmengarten) and you can set off in the morning after a good nights sleep and actually enjoy your first day in Rothenburg. Otherwise, you will be so exhausted you won't really enjoy that day.

Fly out of Munich. Book an open jaw flight. It makes no sense to come all the way back to Frankfurt if you don't want to see anything around here.
Actually Rothenburg is closer to Munich, so not sure why you are flying into Frankfurt? Check round trip tickets for Munich. Save the train fare.

Assuming your are booking via FRA due to there being a direct flight from your home airport, I would look into using the rail-fly option with Lufthansa (or United). Here is a thread with some info about it. For you itinerary, you could put QWU Würzburg as your destination and get the ICE included in your ticket (usually cheaper than purchasing a separate ICE ticket plus if you flight is late they just rebook you automatically). Then either overnight in Würzburg that first night or try and get to RoT.

As someone who travels with small children, I definitely recommend version B.

In Munich I would also recommend the Deutches Museum Kid's Kingdom (especially if it is raining). Also, most Biergartens have nice playgrounds as well which makes for a stress free dining with kids experience. Hofbräukeller am Wienerplatz is one of our favorites.

DJ

This is great thank you! No need for car seats, kids are in boosters now. I'm hoping to get direct flights into Munich but am limited from my city and they tend to be about $1,000+ more combined than into Frankfurt. We have a few options on airlines, times and dates if we go into Frankfurt. We've done a long haul trip before and it was a bit slower paced than this, but there is just so much I want to see. I'll check out everyone's suggestions!

When my friend and I flew into FRA last summer, we picked up our car and drove the short distance to Wiesbaden and stayed just one night there in a hotel maybe half a mile from the city center. We hit up the ATM and then went to the nearby thermal pool and floated away our jet lag in the family-friendly non-naked area. We woke up the next day refreshed and ready to go. Highly recommend.