Originally Posted by
Proudelitist
Because you are coming from the UK, you will have to get your bags prior to passing through US customs at ATL, then recheck.
On the plus side, "recheck" in this case is typically just a bag drop a few meters after exiting customs. It's already tagged Sarasota, so you're usually just plopping it onto a belt and having it whisked away. There will be one or two Delta employees there, but you probably won't have any need to interact with them. This part is easy and requires no queue (and usually not much of a walk with your bags).