Upcoming taping advice?

Yay Tara!! So excited for you! The first thing I would say is to make sure you get enough rest the night before. It was easier on me coming from Eastern Time to get to bed "early" and get up in plenty of time -- the 5am wake up call felt like 8am to me because of the time difference!

The whole day was a blur for me, so just try to relax and take it all in! Oh, and take advantage of every time they give you for a restroom break! lol

From reading Robert's write up of his experience, he was so much more aware of the surroundings than I was that I now feel kind of silly for not noticing some things! I highly suggest (re-)reading his write up from his show recap page!

Just don't get too high or too low, and practice clicking a pen because that's how the Toss-Up buzzer works -- it rings in when you release it, not when you depress it!

Oh, and some of the prize wedges/placards are difficult to pull up, so keep that in mind if you get the opportunity!

Congratulations on this once in a lifetime experience!

Hopefully I'm not stepping on anybody's toes with these (I'm sure a mod will chime in if I am), but here's a few general taping-related tips I've picked up on over the years:
* Not sure if they still do this, but in years past, especially at auditions, the staff would strongly suggest using Free Play for vowels. If they do that at your taping, ignore them. If you land on Free Play and feel picking a vowel is the best option, sure, go for it, but don't do it just because the staff heavily suggested it.
* Don't worry if nobody can make the trip to Culver City with you. Many contestants have someone with them in the audience, but it's not mandatory. Besides, you've got your fellow contestants (and everybody here) cheering you on no matter what.
* When you're there, the show is not being broadcast to millions but rather being recorded in front of about 350 people (about 300 audience members + staff + fellow contestants). I feel like a mentality of "I'm playing to an audience of millions" could make players more nervous than one of "I'm playing to an audience of about 300"; in other words, the audience is small upon taping and large upon airing, but it's only the former when you're actually there.
* Don't think about how social media might react to your gameplay. I've mentioned before around here (primarily this post) that I feel social media has made contestants more nervous over the past eight years or so compared to those who played before then (for various reasons I get into during said post). I say ignore that aspect of things and...
* Above all else, as Eugene said, have fun. Getting on Wheel is a huge accomplishment in and of itself, plus they give you $1,000 just for playing. Anything else you win is icing on the cake.


Exactly. If you want a game plan for the Bonus Round, by all means ask, but agreed that it's better to focus on the main game. The Bonus Round is just extra toppings on the cake, after all.

The audience is actually only 160 seats, and the lighting when on stage makes them pretty hard to see anyway, so they shouldn't be much of a distraction.

Here's a tip from me: go to the bathroom whenever you can, especially before your show. You can go whenever you want, except when they're prepping the next show's contestants, which starts around the Final Spin. Also, don't force yourself to eat or drink anything if you don't think your stomach combined with nerves can handle it.

And heads up, you and the others will often be asking each other for the time, especially after you put your phones away. There's no clock in the green room, but there is a phone on the wall of the adjacent makeup room that shows the time. You can also wear a watch on your non-spinning hand.

Exactly what I said! Kind of like when someone offers you a mint or gum, they may be trying to tell you something so always take it! lol

Such a true statement. When I was in CA a few months ago, I felt the same way. Then I took the red eye home. Left CA around 11pm and landed 7am local time. Slept the entire flight and woke-up home.

Tara, the best advice I can give you (and I haven't filmed yet) is to keep moving forward. I've watched a lot of people make a small mistake early on and then have trouble bouncing back because they're still thinking about it. Remember that while every round counts, you're not out until the end. Plus, unlike Jeopardy, you keep what you win even if you're not the "winner" so keep playing strong.

Good luck!!

sorry to piggy back off this post, but I'm set to tape in 2 weeks and for the life of me cannot find my social security card.. ive searched high and low all night and plan to go to social services in the morning. any past contestants know how strict they are with seeing the actual card?? if they give me out a print out tomorrow is that sufficient?? thank you!

I was actually in the same boat...all you have to do is go to the office and request a new one. Bring your receipt with you. Just let them know via email. The news is that ss cards come fast. I requested move on a Wednesday and it came in the mail on Monday. 5 days including Sunday! Don't stress it's ok!

Hey I hope you had a great time taping today let us know everything that happened when you can!

Are audience members sworn to secrecy too?