Interesting Question...
Well for me, being tickled out of a sound sleep is a strange feeling at first. I startle easily, so at first the tickling just scares me, doesn't even register as tickling or as something that feels good. Now, once I'm awake, the tickling is great. Just the initial shock is a weird feeling.
I do remember one "tickling weekend", the ler I was playing with awoke before I did. When I did wake up, I found him walking back and forth across the room. Once he realized I was awake, he took a flying leap (and I mean flying!) onto the bed, and we proceeded to tickle the hell out of each other for a couple of hours. Now that was a great way to wake up and spend a Sunday morning!
tbbw