Terminal 8

Yes you can wait in the terminal lobby with your friends without the ticket.

When you arrive from LAX at T8 follow signs to AirTrain and take train on track 2 from T8 to T4, only takes a few minutes.

Re: Anil R, my experience w/ JFK (which is extensive - I've travel around the world 10x from there, so here's what I can share:

1) You should not have to go through customs if you are flying on. Typically, your bags should have been forwarded through, unless you instructed them otherwise (or if that's a new policy), Regardless, you should be able to get off the plane in about 15 minutes, unless there's weather or air traffic, and you have to 'stay in the pattern' which is fairly frequent. But once you are at the gate, after deplaning, you walk about 1/2 mile to customs, and queue (which could be fast, say 5-15 minutes, or slow - I once had to wait 45 minutes.
2) You then go to baggage claim (make sure you know which one - this can get confusing, but they have digital signs working most of the time, so If you don't see it within 3 minutes, ask! Then, getting you bag is usually pretty fast, say 10 minutes, up to never if they lost it (then you have to go to Lost Luggage..); But a typical LONG wait is 30-60 min.
3) walk to the first outside lane where buses stop, and hop on any blue bus (the parking lot buses work, as well as hotel shuttles usually) and make sure they will stop at Terminal 8. The parking lot buses should be stopping at every terminal, and these buses (long. blue buses saying "Lot C" for going to the long term parking lot Have to stop at every terminal, so you usually see one of these every 5-10 minutes stopping (they're free - hotel shuttlrd too, . To get from T4 to T8 is about 20 minutes (5 minutes per T-stop). If you have to bring your luggage, you stand in the security line, which will take 15-30 minutes.
4) This is if the Gods are with you and no problems arise, So the BEST time from getting off plane 1 to boarding plane 2 is going to be 2 hours. Murphy's law says you may run into a snag, so just be prepared to deal with it. Trying to take a taxi from T4 to T8 will be a ripoff, even though the signs say otherwise.

I hope this helps, and that the gods of travel keep Murphy at bay; If you can "check your bags through on to Amsterdam" then by ALL MEANS DO SO!

And please, some the best Hawaiian or Thai stick you can find. I want to go, just so I can be stoned in peace for a day or two.

Happy Holidays!

Most terminals have bars/restaurants where you can purchase alcoholic beverages.

There are shuttle buses. They cost about $10. They are not easy to find however and leave from odd locations. Take a cab for $ 27 + tip.

JFK is a hit or miss. Depending on what time of the day you arrive, customs might be very busy or not. I once made it through customs in 10 minutes. Another time it took me over two hours. I'd suggest you inform the flight crew that you have a tight connection so that you can maybe exit the plane ahead of other people. Normally, you always have to clear customs upon arrival in the U.S. even if you have a continuing flight no matter where. After passport control, which takes the most amount of time, you simply collect your bags and walk through customs. Then drop off your bags at the bag drop area. That usually does not take much time. Then you will have to proceed through security again, which might cause a delay. Mind that you have to be at your next flight 15 minutes ahead of the departure, so you will have only 45 minutes to go through customs and security. It is doable unless you are traveling on a peak travel day during peak travel time, in which case you will most likely miss your connecting flight.