Our combined family of teens loved it. They had to get up pretty early to go too! They limit the group to a certain number, I think there were 12 in our group. It did cost a lot but it was a great chance for them to try something. They went in 2003 and it was run by "Cocoa Beach Surf School". There was 3 people in charge 2 in the water(one instructor is with each person) and one to instruct how you get in the water. It starts at 7am, and they instruct you on land for a while, then you get in the water/with board, 2 at a time and the wave goes off and you try and catch it. You ride the wave all the way in(if you can- to sandy beach) and it is quite a walk all the way back to the base of wave pool where you get in the water(farthest end). You go in the deepest part. Most people in our group got to individually ride a wave 5-6 times. But that will depend on a lot of things( how fast you walk- how confident the other surfers are etc). We had 3 surfers in our family( 1 more would have loved to go but the group was full before they saw how much fun it was), you have to be a good swimmer because you start off in deep water, which gets higher with each wave. Yes family members can come in a watch/ they don't have to pay to watch. It is kind of neat to see the sunrise on WDW..They count you when you come in and they make sure you all leave at about 8:55am/9am. You will have to go back out and in I think...for a regular day admission. There will be people waiting in line to get in you will see them when they usher your surf group out. I don't know about leaving stuff under a canopy or on chairs, as we were leaving to do another park. But being there that early you should not have trouble getting a choice spot for your belongings. Hope this helps.
