Romantic Road with Eurail Global Pass

That's what I would do. Or, better yet, spend the night in Rothenburg.

First, don't listen to RailEurope. They don't have your best interest at heart. A Eurail pass is not the best way to see the Romantic Road. It only gives a 20% discount on the Romantic Road bus, which gives a drive-by tour of the Road.

The train only parallels the Romantic Road from Landsberg to Nördlingen and a short stretch from Weikersheim to Würzburg. The rest is only by local bus (or the RR coach). There isn't really a local bus between Landsberg and Nördlingen because the bus supplements, does not compete, for the most part, with the train. I have been by bus on the entire route that is not served by train, and I have to agree that the Road is not that interesting.

I spent most of five days on the Road, almost all of it in towns. It is the towns that make it interesting. Unless you are going to spend most of you time in the towns (and that means days), forget the Romantic Road.

What did he expect? These are small towns overrun by mass tourism. The famous driver doesn't have the time to chat anymore, and the locals are gone. That's the result when a successful travel writer with a cult following recommends small places. And it's not only true for parts of the RR, but also for Cesky Krumlov or Cinque Terre. Recommending Cinque Torre was downright irresponsible, in my opinion.

Back to topic: the RR was established to promote tourism between the biggest airport and, before reunification, the most popular city of the country. The road itself isn't romantic, it's just a normal road that connects several small towns that could be considered "romantic". But such towns exist almost everywhere, you don't have to follow the RR to see them. There are many beautiful small towns much closer to Munich, like Eichstätt, Wasserburg am Inn, Landshut, Regensburg or Burghausen for example.

"Would we be better off to just take a train to Rothenburg and spend the day and catch a train back to Munich in the evening?"
The ride itself would take up most of the day.

"I've read a couple commentaries that state the Romantic Road really isn't that big a deal unless you actually get off and explore the small towns which we clearly won't be able to do on a bus and train."

It is true that you cannot get off the RR bus for a reasonable amount of time to explore. If you do, you'll be in that town for 24 hours waiting for the next RR bus.

But the train is another matter entirely. It is perfectly possible to visit most of these towns by train and to see 2-3 towns in a day (which is all you have time for in a day anyway, really; doing the RR by bus or by car in one day is a ridiculous undertaking.)

If the northern RR towns (Rothenburg, Würzburg, Weikersheim, etc.) interest you, I'd recommend staying in Würzburg (a major train hub.) You can be in Weikersheim and in Rothenburg in about 1 hour. And as Martin so accuratly points out, "such towns exist almost everywhere, you don't have to follow the RR to see them." The old-world towns of Ochsenfurt and Iphofen are even closer to Würzburg - and you don't have to share them with the international tourist horde that only knows about Rothenburg. Why not see them as well? If you think the RR has all the great towns, just check out these photos to understand how mistaken this notion is:

IPHOFEN
OCHSENFURT
BAD WINDSHEIM'S VERY AMAZING FREILANDMUSEUM (a collection of historical rural Bavarian buildings that were rescued and reconstructed and now provide a window on life there over the last 6 centuries - also about 1 hour from Würzburg.)

And then there's Bamberg - the old town there is a UNESCO World Heritage site - less than 1 hour from Würzburg:
BAMBERG

To the south, the RR towns of Nördlingen, Harburg, Donauwörth, Augsburg, and Landsberg am Lech are also well connected by train. It would be easy to spend 2-3 days in this area as well.

This rail line diagram shows how extensively Bavaria is served by train. You can use it to locate the towns above and plot out where to stay and how to reach the towns that interest you. Red lines = hourly (or better) train service. Blue lines = river valleys.
BAVARIAN TRAIN ROUTES

"There are many beautiful small towns much closer to Munich, like Eichstätt, Wasserburg am Inn, Landshut, Regensburg or Burghausen for example." Speaking of Burghausen... I had the pleasure of exploring this delightful little town and it's massive castle over the weekend. This is the type of town I hope Rick Steves never mentions, lest the beautiful but relatively compact Altstadt become jammed elbow-to-elbow with Rickniks.

Rick's Romantic Road chapter in the Germany book discusses train and local bus connections between all the towns mentioned. In order to really stop and see the towns, choose just a couple that most appeal to you and travel by train. The official Romantic Road bus makes only very short photo stops. At 3 hours and 2 - 3 train connections each way, Rothenburg does not make a good daytrip from Munich; it makes more sense if you're headed north and have time to stay overnight. How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.

Thanks so much everyone, for the advice. The Romantic Road tour has been crossed off our list per your suggestions.

Unfortunately, we are based in Munich (hotel all set) so spending a night in Wurzburg, etc. isn't an option. However, I do like the idea of taking the train to a couple of the great towns you have mentioned and I think that is what we will do.

Russ, your photos were gorgeous.

Thanks again, everyone.

If you're based in Munich... use your daytrips to go to the towns to the SOUTH towards the Alps, not to the north away from them. Although they're a different flavour around the Alps, they're just as enjoyable as anything the Romantic Road can offer. Plus, you also have the oppurtunity for mountain excursions, if the weather holds.

Suggestions: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Oberstdorf, Oberamergau, Lindau, Rosenheim, the area around Chiemsee, Mittenwald, Füssen, Pfronten (never been there myself, but a poster who's judgement I trust swears by it), Berchtesgaden, Tegernsee, Bad Tölz.

Closer to Munich but not to the south, Landshut, Freising, Augsburg, and Landsberg am Lech

Or, just follow the herd of sheep to towns further up the Romantic Road, because, hey, everyone else does it...

Tom, thanks for the endorsement, but I'm not sure, unless someone just wants to stay in a delightful town, I would swear by Pfronten as a destination As an alternative to Reutte, I think it is a far more attractive town, with equal bus access to Füssen. You can hike up to the ruins of Falkenstein, which was to be Ludwig's next (last?) castle, and the view from the top of the Breitenberg Seilbahn gives you a tremendous view of the area, including Neuschwanstein in the distance.