We went in with 2 hours of park time last trip. We wanted to ride Indy before it went down. I also got stroller pass. Surprise! There was curb side seating for parade. Worked out great.
We have gotten there and all checked in at about 3 and walked over to DTD and Ive wanted to just go in. I totally understand that feeling but after a 6-7 hour drive with littles I knew they wouldn't last long and probably be way to much. If you have older kids I say go for it! You can't go wrong either way. Until our kids are pre-teen we will probably always take the DTD way on our arrive day.
There are not a lot of deals at Disney, but there is one great one, long term passes get real cheap after a few days. We have APs at DL but when we go to WDW longer is better. It does not pay to miss a day.