Hawai'i's Big Island Steals the Show on Wheel of Fortune Tonight

11/05/2008

Check your local listings for a four-week getaway on the Island of Hawai’i

Hawai’i‘s Big Island (Nov. 5, 2008) – Viewers tuned into America’s most popular TV game show tonight will notice a hot, exotic star on the stage, and we’re not talking about Pat and Vanna. Hawai’i‘s Big Island – where 20 Wheel of Fortune episodes were shot in September – is likely to steal the show.

Magical Kohala Coast sunsets, jungle-clad waterfalls, and fetching fairways will inspire viewers to book a vacation on Hawai’i Island, as will Hilton Waikoloa Village, the luxury resort where four weeks’ worth of shows were shot amidst a backdrop of dolphins and swaying palm trees.

“Hawai’i‘s Big Island is such a beautiful and adventurous place to visit. I am looking forward to going back,” said Vanna White, Wheel of Fortune’s glamorous co-host.

While Vanna and Pat were working hard, Kīlauea was putting on a show of its own when Wheel of Fortune was here Aug. 20 – Sept. 23, and the show goes on today. Molten lava is currently gushing into the ocean near Kalapana, and Halema’uma’u Crater, up at the summit in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, continues to emit a dramatic, towering plume of smoke and gas visible by day, and a fiery incandescence in the evening.

Just offshore from Hilton Waikoloa Village, where a few weeks ago thousands of Wheel of Fortune audience members clapped in chorus for their favorite Hawai’i contestants, Hawai’i‘s favorite repeat visitors have returned. The misty exhalations of migratory humpback whales are being spotted rising from the sea, and the average temperature is around 80 degrees on the beach, give or take a degree.

And while Wheel of Fortune flew more than 200 Los Angeles based crew, and shipped in about 1.8 million pounds of equipment, across the Pacific Ocean, travelers need little more than a carry-on bag to sink into the Hawaiian scene comfortably. A range of lodging choices, from the luxurious resorts on the Kohala Coast, to family-friendly hotels and vacation rentals in the Kailua-Kona and Keauhou areas, to affordably quaint B&Bs and hotels, spell out a winning phrase of “Something For Everyone.” New direct flights from Seattle and Los Angeles to Kona are making travel to Hawai’i‘s Big Island a breeze.

Want to tease your thirst for adventure? Watch for cameo appearances by Waipi’o Valley, Parker Ranch, ‘Akaka Falls and other Hawaiian icons by tuning into Wheel of Fortune Nov. 5-7, and Nov. 10-11 for the first week of shows titled “Hawai’i‘s Big Island.” Then tune into “Best Friends Week” airing Nov. 12-14 and Nov. 17-18. The third week is “Wheel Goes Waikoloa,” airing Nov. 19-21 and Nov. 24-25. The fourth week of shows, “Second Honeymoon,” will air in February 2009.

All 60 contestants are from the Hawaiian Islands, and more than half are from Hawai’i‘s Big Island. It is the second time Wheel of Fortune has filmed on location from the Big Island. The last time was in 1996. The Big Island Visitors Bureau and Hilton Waikoloa Village then, like now, supported the production by providing location and logistical resources.

For more information on Hawai’i‘s Big Island, visit www.bigisland.org

Wheel of Fortune is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company. It is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Paramount International Television, both units of CBS Corp.

NOTE: BIVB recognizes the use of diacritical markings, i.e., glottal stop (’), macron (ā), in place names of Hawai’i, such as Kīlauea. However, BIVB respects the individual use of these markings for names of organizations and businesses.

Big Island Visitors Bureau Media Contact:
Jessica Ferracane, Irondog Communications, (808) 895-5740, jessica@irondogpr.com