Contestant Blogs

Mark & Heather C.

POSTED on Monday, January 28th, 2013
My wife and I have been watching Wheel of Fortune for 30 years, since we were both young children. We both have special memories of watching the show with our grandparents. Being selected as a contestant was a dream come true!

I have been applying to be a contestant on the show for 7 years. On one ordinary work day, I received an email to audition in Louisville, KY. I was so excited that before I had even finished reading the email, I called my wife to share my great news. After our conversation, I read the rest of the email which stated that I needed to call to confirm my spot, as seats were limited and were available on a first come, first serve basis. Thankfully, I called in time and my spot was reserved! Finally, I was one step closer to my lifelong dream.

When I called to reserve my spot, I asked the contestant coordinator if my wife would be able to join me so we could audition as a couple. They said YES! We were consumed with excitement (and nerves) for our big audition day and made a fun weekend in Louisville out of the whole experience.

The audition was held in the Brown hotel in downtown Louisville. There were probably 80 people at our audition. They had also held an audition the day before. After several rounds of practice games, a written test, and impromptu interviews we made it to the final cut. We were thrilled and honored just to be a part of this experience. The contestant coordinators are amazing! They do everything they possibly can to make you as successful as possible during your audition. Once the auditions were over and only about 20 of us remained, we were told that if we didn't get a letter within 2 weeks, we didn't make it.

SO, two weeks laternothing. Two months laternot a word. At this point, we had almost given up hope! Our dream was slowly slipping away, until one cold December day. Yes, December5 months later. As my wife was rushing around making dinner for the kids, she received a call from one of the contestant coordinators inviting us to be contestants on Disney's Making Family Memories Week, taping in 2 weeks! My wife created a makeshift Wheel of Fortune game for me on a dry erase board as her way of telling me about our awesome news! I can only remember yelling "Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?" To say I was excited would be a massive understatement.

After making childcare, flight, hotel, and clothing, arrangements, etc., we were on our way to making our dream come true! Our day on the show was thrilling, nerve-wracking, and entertaining, to say the least.

Watch us spin on Wednesday, January 30th!