Nicole B.

I will never forget that moment that I found out I made it on the show. I was sitting on the floor of my daughter’s room and we were playing with her dolls when I felt my Apple Watch vibrate indicating an email had come through. I glanced at it quickly to make sure it wasn’t anything important, but took a double take when I saw, “Congratulations! You have been selected to join us for Disney Secret Santa” from the team at Wheel of Fortune! Turns out, it WAS an important email!

I jumped up and cheered and my daughter, Aurora, who is 2 ½ did the same even though she didn’t quite know what we were celebrating at the time! I waited until my husband, Wes, got home from work to tell him and he picked me up and spun me around while cheering! He’s the love of my life and my best friend and knowing that he was going to be in the audience cheering me on was more of a blessing than I could have ever dreamed of!

Finding out I made it on the show was filled with nostalgia and giddiness. I have been watching Wheel of Fortune since I was little with my family (always having a blast by being the most competitive with my dad) and then into adulthood I began playing along with my husband, Wes, on the app and on the Wii. If being on the show alone wasn’t enough to celebrate, the show I was selected for was themed around my 2 favorite things - Disney and Christmas! It was literally a dream come true! I could not have asked for a more exciting moment!

Practicing for the show was a lot of fun! I already watched Wheel of Fortune every night but when I was selected, I tried to mimic things on the show like holding up a pen and using it as a clicker during Toss Up rounds and I would stand up during the show to get more of a feel for how it would be when I was there in person. I played a lot more often on the app to prepare as well.

I learned so much through this experience. The number one thing that this taught me personally is that the group of 3 people standing up next to Pat during the game are not “competitors”, but they are “teammates.” Of course, everyone would like to win, but after spending the entire day with the contestants who are all preparing for this once in a lifetime experience, I genuinely wanted everyone to do well and the cheers for each person was authentic! I met the most wonderful people and feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to be there with each one of them!

The second thing I learned – which won’t be surprising at all – is that playing the game from home on your couch is completely different than playing on the show. There is a lot going on when you are there in person with many places to look, things to keep track of, and quick decisions to be made all while trying to solve the puzzle. It was literally the fastest 22 minutes of my life!

And thirdly, the entire Wheel of Fortune team was incredible. I don’t have enough kind words to say about Pat, Vanna, Jim, Maggie, Alex, and Shannon. Through and through, they were encouraging, kind, helpful, funny, and fun! They went above and beyond to make contestants feel at ease, they brought so much energy to the audience, and they made the experience absolutely incredible. I only wish I could remember everyone’s names at Wheel of Fortune and those who were there representing Disney to extend more compliments and words of gratitude to each one of them! Thank you all!

The category that I was the most nervous about going into the game was “On the Map” and I believe that was the category for the second puzzle that we had. Truthfully, I didn’t even know what it was until one of the contestants solved it! Another thing that surprised me is that I thought I would actually look at the Wheel more than I did to see what I landed on. Most of the time, I didn’t know what dollar amount I landed on until Pat called it out since I was looking at the puzzle or the letter board. I did land on the $3,500 wedge which was fun since I got 2 letters with that one, but then I spun a Bankrupt and lost it. It was all still fun and I just tried to remain focused since we all know that the game can change at any minute!

My husband’s family and my side of the family are all planning on going to my parents’ house to watch the episode together! I am really looking forward to it! My battle with Stage 3 Sarcoma cancer in 2017 and 2021 was a huge reason why I applied to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. I remember watching Wheel of Fortune one night in the last year and thought about how much I would love to be on the show. I started to think about all the time I was in the hospital fighting cancer multiple times– hooked up to IV chemo or recovering from surgeries while the world carried on outside the walls of the cancer center. I was finally healthy and I decided in that moment that I didn’t want to be sitting on the sidelines another minute – I wanted to be in the middle of the action!

I had no expectation of being selected, but I knew I had to try! So when I got the email that I was selected, it was a full circle moment and a dream come true to me! I think the most beautiful thing is that my show’s air date is December 13, 2023. What makes this date significant is that exactly 6 years prior to that date (on December 13, 2017), I was declared cancer free after battling Stage 3 Sarcoma Cancer via chemotherapy and major surgeries. I wore Mickey Mouse ears to every chemo treatment and it was a miracle that I got to spend Christmas (which is my favorite holiday) at home that year! So participating as a contestant on my favorite game show in the entire world for Disney Secret Santa on that same day is the ULTIMATE CELEBRATION of a precious anniversary and combination of all of my favorite things coming together! Thank you for making this dream a reality and the memory of a lifetime for me!