Hi:

The posts so far have been super informative. I am flying with my wife an 2 small kids (2 and 4) in mid-May 2012 from Atlanta to Dusseldorf arriving at 7:45 am (Terminal C) and then connecting on a Lufthansa Regional flight (operated by Eurowings) to Sofia, Bulgaria at 10:30. So, we have 2 hrs and 45 mins but will need to claim our checked bags, go through customs and then check in at the LH desk at Terminal A.
Delta claims they do not have a baggage agreement with Eurowings and refuses to check our bags all the way through to Sofia.
Could anyone describe what we might encounter? Please give some sequential details of the steps, since my wife is convinced we will miss our connection. I understand that there are 5 or 6 other large international arrivals from various countries at that time and also read that immigration was a "zoo" at 6 am. So, just trying to gauge our realistic chances of success considering we have the kids and need to wait for our bags and then get them checked again at the LH desk no later than 10:00 since they close the checkin process 30 minutes prior to departure.
This is a little lengthy, but seems to have a few extra wrinkles compared to previous posts.

Separate question: Is there any value in using their VIP service?

Thanks in advance!