The Amazing Race 18

The Amazing Race 18
The Amazing Race logo from Seasons 18–22
Presented by	Phil Keoghan
No. of teams	11
Winners	LaKisha "Kisha" & Jennifer "Jen" Hoffman
No. of legs	12
Distance traveled	40,000 mi (64,000 km)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	11
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	February 20 (2011-02-20) – May 8, 2011 (2011-05-08)[1]
Additional information
Filming dates	November 20 (2010-11-20)[2] – December 12, 2010 (2010-12-12)[3]
Season chronology
← Previous Season 17 Next → Season 19
List of episodes

The Amazing Race 18 (also known as The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business) is the eighteenth installment of the American reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 18 featured eleven teams of two – each returning from a previous edition for the first time since Season 11 – in a race around the world for a $1 million prize.^[4]

The eighteenth cycle started on Sunday, February 20, 2011. It aired on CBS in the United States on Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT with the two-hour season finale on May 8, 2011. The show is hosted by Phil Keoghan.

Sisters LaKisha "Kisha" and Jennifer "Jen" Hoffman were the winners of this season and became the second straight all-female team to win the American edition of The Amazing Race.

Production[]

Development and filming[]

The Amazing Race 18 was the first season of the United States series to be broadcast on high-definition television.^[5] While most other prime-time television shows had transitioned to high definition, including other reality television shows, previous seasons of The Amazing Race used standard-definition television due to the cost and fragility of high-definition recording equipment.^[6] International versions of The Amazing Race, including the fourth Asian and second Latin American seasons, had already transitioned to high-definition. Also, many previous editions of Elimination Station were filmed in high-definition. This season traveled a little over 40,000 miles (64,000 km) across 23 cities and five continents.

Filming started on November 20, 2010 at the San Gorgonio Pass wind farm near Palm Springs, California where the first task had teams sorting through hundreds of paper airplanes. They were asked to find one that said "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services", which is the full name of Qantas Airways. By finding the correct paper airplane, teams were awarded one of two flights to their first destination: Sydney, Australia.^[7] Teams were spotted at Oceanworld in Manly near Sydney, Australia around November 22, 2010^[2] and a day later around the mining town of Broken Hill, New South Wales in the Australian Outback.^[8] Other locales cited as destinations are Yokohama, Japan, where teams swam in freezing waters near Mount Fuji, and the series' first visit to Liechtenstein, where a task had racers measure the length of the principality on mopeds.^[9][10] Teams also visited Lijiang and Kunming, China; Kolkata and Varanasi, India; Vienna, Austria; Zermatt, Switzerland; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[11]

The Express Pass, introduced in the previous series, returned, allowing the team that places first in the first leg to skip any later task in the season. The last team to complete the first task was forced to complete a U-Turn in the next leg, performing both tasks of the leg's Detour.^[11] This is the first American season not to feature the Fast Forward, which has been previously featured in first seventeen seasons, and later back again in The Amazing Race 20.

The old double-length legs format found in seasons 6-10, & 14 was changed in this season to legs without a mandatory rest period between them. At the end of the first leg in Sydney, Australia, and the fourth leg in Lijiang, China, teams were told their placements and were then ordered to keep racing with a new Route Info clue. The first team to check in was still awarded a prize and the last team to check in was not eliminated and did not have to perform a Speed Bump in the next leg. This resumed the prior twist but unlike in earlier seasons when Phil not say the number of legs at the Starting Line, he still said that there were 12 legs in this season. The confusing "This leg is not over" which made teams and the audience think they were on the same leg while really beginning a new leg (based on other Pit stops or challenges later in the season) has been replaced with "The next leg starts right now". This acknowledges that false or virtual Pit stops with the mat indeed divide two legs like rest Pit stops do despite the teams continuing to race. The true double-length leg with no Pit stop mat divider (found on seasons 6, 8 & 10) did not return until Season 32.^[12]

Casting[]

The 18th season of The Amazing Race was subtitled "Unfinished Business" and featured eleven returning teams from previous seasons for a second chance to win the million dollar prize. Keoghan described all the contestants as teams that "came so close to winning but for one reason or another just didn't quite make it over the finish line in first place".^[13] Keoghan gave examples of two teams: Zev & Justin from Season 15, who had finished first on a leg, but one of them had lost his passport too late to continue racing; and Kisha & Jennifer from Season 14, where they took an unfortunately-timed restroom break while racing to the Pit Stop and were eliminated.^[13] The prior experience of all the teams in previous seasons allowed the producers to increase the difficulty of the various tasks and challenges they were to face.^[13] All of the teams have been from recent seasons of The Amazing Race with the earliest season represented is the 12th. According to Bertram van Munster, they stayed with more recent teams because "if we're digging too far back, people might not even remember who they were".^[9] The 14th season is represented by five of the eleven teams; van Munster called this particular season of The Amazing Race "a very unique season" and justified its larger proportion of teams.^[9] Though they had considered mother and son fan-favorites Toni and Dallas Imbimbo from the 13th season, Keoghan stated they felt the other selected teams "have the best stories and the best motivation" for casting.^[14] During an interview with CBS's The Early Show, Season 17 runner-ups Brook Roberts and Claire Champlin revealed they were asked to take part on the season but couldn't due to the latter's pregnancy.^[15]

The returning teams, their prior Amazing Race placements, and their "Unfinished Business" are:

• From Season 12:
  • Kent Kaliber^[a] and Vyxsin Fiala, dating goths and Hot Topic models, 5th place; They suffered a communications breakdown in Tuscany due to their lack of experience driving a manual transmission vehicle, resulting in them coming in last on a non-elimination leg and having to complete a Speed Bump on the next leg. They also wasted their U-Turn power by erroneously using it on a team that was ahead of them. They are the only team whose "unfinished business" experience was involved in a leg they weren't eliminated in.
  • Ron and Christina Hsu, father and daughter, 2nd place; They had a huge lead for most of the final leg in Anchorage, until Christina was brought down by the final Roadblock, costing them the win.
• From Season 14:
  • Amanda Blackledge and Kris Klicka, engaged (dating in Season 14), 8th place; They were U-Turned by Margie & Luke in Siberia, which led to their elimination.
  • Jaime Edmondson and Cara Rosenthal, former cheerleaders for the NFL's Miami Dolphins, 2nd place; Their cab driver in Maui got lost on the way to the final Roadblock destination (in addition to stopping to get gas), costing them valuable time.
  • LaKisha "Kisha" and Jennifer "Jen" Hoffman, sisters and sports coaches, 4th place; They were U-Turned by Tammy & Victor in Beijing, China. In addition, on the way to the Pit Stop, Jen took an emergency bathroom break after drinking four bottles of water during the Roadblock, allowing Jaime and Cara to squeak past them to the pit stop. As a result, they fell to last place and were eliminated.
  • Margie and Luke Adams, mother and son, 3rd place; They were in the lead for most of the final leg in Maui, until Luke stumbled at the final Roadblock, costing them the win.
  • Mel and Mike White, father and son writers, 6th place; Their cab driver took them to the wrong place in Phuket, setting them behind all the other teams. Eventually they could not recover from this setback and were eliminated.
• From Season 15:
  • Herbert "Flight Time" Lang and Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton, teammates on the Harlem Globetrotters, 4th place; Big Easy could not complete the Kafka-themed Roadblock in Prague and took a 4-hour penalty, resulting in their elimination.
  • Zev Glassenberg and Justin Kanew, best friends, 9th place; After checking in first in Phnom Penh, they realized they had lost Zev's passport and they were unable to find it before all other remaining teams checked in, resulting in their elimination.
• From Season 16:
  • Jet and Cord McCoy, brothers and rodeo cowboys, 2nd place; On the plane from Shanghai to San Francisco, eventual winners Dan & Jordan were able to move up to first class for free, giving them a lead that Jet & Cord were never able to overcome.
• From Season 17:
  • Gary and Mallory Ervin, father and daughter, 6th place; They got lost for many hours trying to find the Roadblock location in Oman and ended up losing out to eventual winners Nat & Kat by a mere five minutes.

Future appearances[]

Margie & Luke, Flight Time & Big Easy, and Jet & Cord returned a third time to compete on The Amazing Race: All-Stars.^[16] Mallory returned on the same season forming a composite team with Mark Jackson as his partner William "Bopper" Minton was unable to be medically cleared to compete.^[17]

Outside of The Amazing Race, Mallory appeared on the Discovery Channel reality show Backyard Oil in 2013.^[18] On May 25, 2016, Flight Time & Big Easy appeared on an Amazing Race-themed The Price is Right primetime special.^[19] Mike White later competed in his third reality TV appearance on the thirty-seventh season of Survivor, entitled David vs. Goliath, and finished as the first runner-up.^[20] Flight Time & Big Easy also appeared on 100 Day Dream Home in 2021.^[21]

Marketing[]

Snapple served as a sponsor this season of The Amazing Race, with "Snapple Real Facts" introduced during commercial breaks. The sixth leg of the season – taking place in Kolkata, India – featured several tasks involving a papaya-and-mango flavored tea Snapple developed and named after the show.^[22] Ford also sponsored the season, with their new Focus serving as the prize car during the eighth leg.

Results[]

The following teams participated in the season, each listed along with their placements in each leg and relationships as identified by the program. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television, owing to the inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order:

Team	Relationship	Position (by leg)												Roadblocks performed
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	⋐9⋑	10	11	12
Kisha & Jen	Sisters	3rd	4th	4th	5th	4th	6th	3rd	4th	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	Kisha 6, Jen 6
Flight Time & Big Easy	Harlem Globetrotters	5th	2nd	5th2	6th	6th⋐	7th	1st	2nd	5th⊃	1st	3rd	2nd	Flight Time 6, Big Easy 6
Gary & Mallory	Father/Daughter	1st	9th	2nd	3rd	2ndε4	1st	4th	6th	4th	3rd	1st	3rd	Gary 6,4 Mallory 6
Zev & Justin	Best Friends	4th	1st	1st	8th	8th	4th	2nd	1st	1st	4th	4th		Zev 5, Justin 5
Kent & Vyxsin	Dating Goths	10th	7th	7th	9th	5th⊃5	5th	6th	3rd	3rd	5th6			Kent 4, Vyxsin 5
Jet & Cord	Cowboys/Brothers	11th	3rd	6th	2nd	1st	2nd	5th	5th	6th⊂				Jet 4, Cord 4
Ron & Christina	Father/Daughter	8th	10th	3rd	4th	7th	3rd	7th						Ron 3, Christina 3
Margie & Luke	Mother/Son	7th	5th	8th	1st	3rd	8th							Margie 2, Luke 3
Jaime & Cara	Former NFL Cheerleaders	6th	8th	9th	7th	9th⊂ ⋑								Jaime 2, Cara 2
Mel & Mike	Father/Son	9th	6th	10th3										Mel 1, Mike 1
Amanda & Kris	Engaged	2nd	11th∪1											Amanda 1, Kris 0

Key

• A red team placement means the team was eliminated.
• A purple ε indicates that the team decided to use the Express Pass on that leg.
• An underlined leg number indicates that there was no mandatory rest period at the Pit Stop and all teams were ordered to continue racing, although the first place team was still awarded a prize for that leg. An underlined team placement indicates that the team came in last, was ordered to continue racing, and didn't have to perform a Speed Bump in the next leg.
• An underlined blue team's placement indicates that the team came in last on a non-elimination leg and had to perform a Speed Bump during the next leg.
• An orange ∪ indicates that the team was penalized for finishing last in the Starting Line task and were subject to an automatic U-Turn at the season's first Detour.
• A brown ⊃ or a cyan ⋑ indicates that the team chose to use one of the two U-Turns in a Double U-Turn; ⊂ or ⋐ indicates the team who received it; ⋐⋑ around a leg number indicates that only one of the two available U-Turns was used.

Notes

Episode title quotes[]

Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.^[25]

1. "Head Down and Hold On" – Jaime & Cara's sailing instructor (non-racer)
2. "I Never Looked So Foolish in My Whole Entire Life" – Kisha
3. "We Had a Lot of Evil Spirits Apparently" – Christina
4. "This is the Most Stupid Day Ever" – Vyxsin
5. "Don't Ruin the Basketball Game" – Mallory
6. "I Feel Like a Monkey in a Circus Parade" – Gary
7. "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win" – Cord
8. "I Cannot Deal With Your Psycho Behavior" – Vyxsin
9. "We're Good American People" – Zev
10. "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" – Zev
11. "This is Where It Ends" – Justin

Prizes[]

The prize for each leg was awarded to the first place team for that leg. Trips were provided by Travelocity, the Leg 6 prize was provided by Snapple, and the Leg 8 prize was provided by Ford. The prizes were:

• Leg 1 – The Express Pass – an item that can be used to skip any one task of the team's choosing.
• Leg 2 – A trip for two to Cancún, Mexico
• Leg 3 – A trip for two to the Hotel Punta Islita in Costa Rica
• Leg 4 – A trip for two to Aruba
• Leg 5 – US$5,000 each
• Leg 6 – An Indian dinner for two featuring Bollywood-inspired dance entertainment, and ₹1,000,000 (over US$20,000) to share
• Leg 7 – A trip for two to Hawaiʻi
• Leg 8 – A 2012 Ford Focus for each racer
• Leg 9 – A trip for two to Curaçao
• Leg 10 – A trip for two to the Cook Islands
• Leg 11 – A cruise for two on the Mediterranean Sea with visits to Rome and Casablanca
• Leg 12 – US$1,000,000

Phil's Video Diary[]

A new feature to this season is an online show, allowing the viewers to see what happens behind the scenes of the Race, hosted by Keoghan.^[3] This feature replaced the "Elimination Station" videos as seen in previous seasons.

• Episode 1: The night before the first leg, Phil prepares to meet the eleven teams at Palm Springs, California. He then films the helicopter shots seen at the start of the episode. While traveling to Sydney, Phil explains that the flight had been delayed, meaning that the Pit Stop crew then only had a small time advantage over the teams. The final portion of the diary shows Phil filming the Pit Stop segment.
• Episode 2: Phil films the establishing shot for Shelly Beach and quickly cleans his hair outside, revealing he had not showered before the film crew left Los Angeles. As they drive to Oceanworld Manly to film the Roadblock's establishing shots, Phil sticks his head out of the car window to dry it. Later, Phil explains that they are now flying back to Sydney to catch a flight to Japan, and at the airport, he plays around on the baggage carousel, pretending to be a piece of luggage.
• Episode 3: Phil and the production crew arrive in Narita, Japan, and Phil explains why he loves to visit Japan. They head to the Yuhi Falls featured in the "Prayer of Purity" Detour task, enjoying the scenery, before explaining the task to his diary camera and then filming the piece for the show.
• Episode 4: The film crew lands in Lijiang, China, and Phil explains the Baishui River crossing tourist attraction before filming the explanation for the "Yak Yak Yak" task. After the group heads to the top of Jade Dragon Mountain, Phil shares some grilled yak with one of the film crew, before the filming of the Roadblock explanation in Spruce Meadow is shown.
• Episode 5: The film crew arrives in Kunming and Phil prepares to film the explanation of the "Embrace the Future" Detour task, before poking fun at Barry, the sound technician, and how he has lost his voice. Later, while on the way to the Stone Forest, Barry has his voice back, and they film the Roadblock segment using time-lapse photography. Phil then comments on how the competition has ramped up on Leg 5 and he is interested in who will come in first on the Leg.
• Episode 6: Phil and the production team arrive in Kolkata, and Phil remarks at how empty the streets are at 3 o'clock in the morning. By daybreak, the streets are full of cars and people, and Phil remarks on how he loves it when the show goes to India. Phil arrives in Jorasanko to explain the Detour tasks, and then they visit the Victoria Institution School for the end of the "Bengali Literature" Detour task. At the Pit Stop location, Phil plays cricket with several local children until he breaks the bat, and apologizes to them, before filming the establishing shot for the Pit Stop.
• Episode 7: In Varanasi, Phil remarks on how busy the city is in the morning, much like Kolkata. Phil walks down towards the Ganges, looking at the vegetable stalls on the way to the river. On the Ganges to film the Detour segments, Phil relaxes and says how he is enjoying traveling on the river. The film crew then heads to Ramnagar Fort to wait at the Pit Stop, where Phil once again enjoys watching the Ganges as the sun sets.
• Episode 8: Arriving in Vienna from Delhi, Phil remarks on how different the weather is from India, as it is winter in the northern hemisphere. Phil walks through one of Vienna's Christmas markets before heading to the Austrian National Library where he rides on a horse-drawn carriage before filming the Detour introduction where the Detour choices are initially named "Father of Psychoanalysis" and "Mother of All Meals", before changing to "Long Hard Walk" and "Quick and Easy Meal". The crew then heads to the Sigmund Freud Museum for the Freud's couch Detour before going to the Wiener Riesenrad for the eating Detour, where Barry eats a serving of Wiener Schnitzel, while a microphone is up against the schnitzel.
• Episode 9: The crew arrives in Zermatt, Switzerland, and Phil films the bus they rode and the surroundings. He then walks down the main street to the Detour tasks, commenting on how they only allow electric vehicles in the city. Later, Phil attempts to figure out how the VéloSoleX works, before he rides it in the Liechtenstein Roadblock explanation.
• Episode 10: Phil and the film crew leave their hotel early in the morning to head for the helicopter port that will take them onto the glaciers of the Matterhorn to film the Detour segment. They then take a gondola lift back down the mountain to Zermatt.
• Episode 11: Phil takes in the view of Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach from his balcony, before heading to the beauty salon where a few crew members are being used to demonstrate the waxing route marker. Later, they head to the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum to prepare for the Pit Stop and film the portion explaining the museum before the next leg begins.

Race summary[]

Destinations	Air travel    Rail travel    Water travel    Bus travel Helicopter travel    Bicycle travel    Gondola travel
Route Markers	Detour    Roadblock    U-Turn    Speed Bump    Pit Stop
Icons placed after a location indicate the clue was picked up at this location, while icons placed before a location indicate that the clue was picked up at a prior location.

Leg 1 (United States → Australia)[]

Airdate: February 20, 2011

• Palm Springs, California, United States (San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm) (Starting Line)
• Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport) to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Sydney Airport)
• Sydney (Mascot – International Airport Railway Station to City Centre – Circular Quay Railway Station)
• Sydney (City Centre – Circular Quay Ferry Wharf to Manly – Manly Wharf)
• Sydney (Manly – Oceanworld Manly)
• Sydney (Manly – Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club)
• Sydney (Manly – Shelly Beach)

In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to scuba dive in the Oceanworld shark and ray tank and search the tank for a compass. The compass included a guide to decode a message hidden in series of nautical flags outside. The correctly decoded message instructed teams to go to the Manly 16 ft Skiff Sailing Club, find the Commodore, and tell him the password "I am between the devil and the deep blue sea" to receive their next clue.

Additional tasks

• At the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, teams had to search through a field containing hundreds of paper airplanes with various words written on them for one matching the clue "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services", and had to figure out that this was a reference to Qantas, which was written on the correct airplanes. Once teams presented a correct airplane to Phil, he would give them their first clue and tickets for one of two Qantas flights. The first eight teams were given tickets for the first flight, and the last three teams got tickets for a flight that left 90 minutes after the first.^[b] In addition, the last team to complete the task would be penalized with a U-Turn on the season's first Detour.
• At the Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club, teams had to join a sailing crew and ride a 16ft Skiff through a racecourse to a series of buoys that had their next clue.

Leg 2 (Australia)[]

Airdate: February 27, 2011

• Sydney (City Centre – Sydney Town Hall (To Sail To Stop Sculpture))
• Sydney (Sydney Airport) to Broken Hill (Broken Hill Airport)
• Broken Hill (The Living Desert)
• Broken Hill (Central Football Club)
• Broken Hill (Intersection of Mercury Street and Bismuth Street)
• Broken Hill (Junction Mine)

This season's first Detour was a choice between Spirit World or Natural World. In Spirit World, teams made a traditional Australian Aboriginal stone mosaic based on a model, and then had to perform a dance that is traditionally done to honor ancestors on top of the mosaic before receiving their clue from an Aboriginal elder. In Natural World, teams made traditional Australian Aboriginal paintings by spraying a mix of water and a clay-like pigment out of their mouths to make four specific silhouette images on a piece of slate (an outline of each of their hands and stencils of a lizard and a kangaroo), before they could receive their clue from an Aboriginal elder.

Additional tasks

• At the previous Pit Stop, teams received their clue from Phil instructing them to find "To Sail To Stop" and were left to figure that this referred to a sculpture of an anchor near Sydney Town Hall. There, they could sign up for one of two Rex charter flights to Broken Hill in the Outback for one of two departure times the next morning. The first six teams would fly on a 6:00 a.m. flight, while the last five teams were on the second flight at 6:30 a.m.
• Upon arrival in Broken Hill, teams had to find marked Nissan Patrol SUV with their next clue placed on a windshield and drive themselves to the Living Desert.
• After completing the Detour, teams were told to return to Broken Hill and find the "home of the Magpies", leaving them to figure out that this was a reference to the Broken Hill Football League's Central Magpies Australian rules football team's stadium: Central Football Club.
• At the Central Football Club, teams dressed up as kangaroos complete with Kangoo Jump shoes and were given a periodic table with the symbols Hg and Bi highlighted. They were left to figure out that these are respectively the symbols for mercury and bismuth and that those elements were also names of two streets in town that met at an intersection where their next clue was located.

Leg 3 (Australia → Japan)[]

Airdate: March 6, 2011

• (Indian Pacific) Broken Hill (Broken Hill Railway Station) to Sydney (Haymarket – Central Railway Station) (Pit Start)
• Sydney (Sydney Airport) to Tokyo, Japan (Narita International Airport)
• Tokyo (Shibuya – Rotating Parking Garage)
• Kamakura (Tsurugaoka Hachimangū – Yabusame Dojo)
• Minamiashigara (Daiyūzan Station – Kintarō Statue)
• Minamiashigara (Yuhi Falls or Madarame Farm)
• Yokosuka (Kurihama – Commodore Perry Monument)

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to dress in the traditional clothes of a samurai archer and learn a Yabusame ritual through observation, consisting of a meditative form ritual before a traditional posing with the yumi bow. Once they performed the first two aspects of the ritual to the dojo master's satisfaction, they then had to mount a rotating wooden horse and hit a wooden target with an arrow to receive their next clue.

This leg's Detour was a choice between Prayer of Purity or Frog of Luck. In Prayer of Purity, teams had to don keikogis and travel to the nearby woods, where they would take part in a Shinto cleansing ritual. First, they had to perform a prayer that consisted of a chant, lighting incense, and then shouting while thrusting a bamboo stick out in front of them. Once teams completed the prayers, they would stand under Yuhi Falls and endure being drenched in 45 °F (7 °C) water cascading down onto them for one minute before receiving their next clue. In Frog of Luck, teams had to strip down to their undergarments and put on fundoshi over them before walking out to a mud pit, where they had to search for a toy frog in the mud while having mud thrown at them by locals. Once teams found the frog, they had to present it to the nearby grand master for their next clue.

Additional tasks

• At the rotating parking garage, teams had to ask the garage attendant for a marked Nissan March to drive themselves to Tsurugaoka Hachimangū to find their next clue.
• At the Daiyūzan Station, teams had to search the grounds for the Kintarō statue to find their next clue.

Additional note

• During the Pit Stop, teams boarded a train that took them back to Sydney to start the leg.

Leg 4 (Japan → China)[]

Airdate: March 13, 2011

• Tokyo (Narita International Airport) to Kunming, China (Kunming Wujiaba International Airport)
• Kunming (Kunming Wujiaba International Airport) to Lijiang (Lijiang Airport) or Kunming (Kunming Railway Station) to Lijiang (Lijiang East Railway Station (in Chinese))
• Lijiang (Jade Dragon Mountain)
• Lijiang (Spruce Meadow)
• Lijiang (Old Town of Lijiang)
• Lijiang (Lion Hill – Eternal Tower)

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to search through tens of thousands of wooden charms for a set of twelve that corresponded to the symbols of the Chinese zodiac. Once they collected the charms, they had to place them on a mobile in the correct order of the traditional procession of the signs according to myth, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig, before they could receive their next clue.

This leg's Detour in the Old Town of Lijiang was a choice between Hammer or Horn. In Hammer, teams traveled to a candy shop, where they used wooden mallets to pulverize molten peanut brittle into the right consistency. They then had to cut it into pieces and box them before the candy maker would give them their next clue. In Horn, teams traveled to a square where they had to pick up a large traditional horn and lead a group of Nakhi dancers to Wencheng Palace on the other side of town for their next clue.

Additional tasks

• At Jade Dragon Mountain, teams had to properly saddle a yak, after which one team member rode the yak across a portion of the Baishui River to receive their next clue, which instructed teams to ride a gondola up the mountain to Spruce Meadow and search for their next clue.
• In the Old Town of Lijiang, teams had to put a wish into a prayer wheel via a slot that corresponded to their sign in the Chinese zodiac and call out the name of their sign to receive their next clue.

Additional note

• Due to the limited flights to Lijiang, all teams had to take the mandatory flight to Kunming, China. Once in Kunming, teams could travel by train or plane to Lijiang.

Leg 5 (China)[]

Airdate: March 20, 2011

• Lijiang (Lijiang East Railway Station) to Kunming (Kunming Railway Station)
• Kunming (Dounan Flower Market)
• Kunming (Golden Horse and Jade Cock Memorial Archway (in Chinese))
• Kunming (Makye Ame Shangri-la Tibetan Palatial Restaurant or China Great Wall Asset Management Company)
• Kunming (Yunnan Province Cultural Center)
• Shilin (Stone Forest)
• Kunming (Green Lake Park)

This leg's Detour was a choice between Honor the Past or Embrace the Future. In Honor the Past, teams had to put on a traditional Tibetan outfit at the Makye Ame Shangri-la Tibetan Palatial Restaurant and then watch a theater troupe. Without taking any notes, teams then had to go off-stage and arrange a series of 15 dolls dressed up like the actors in the order of the procession on stage to receive their clue. In Embrace the Future, teams had to put on safety gear and then bring three heavy boxes up to the roof of the China Great Wall Asset Management Company building. Then, teams had to assemble a solar water heating system to receive their next clue.

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to properly assemble a life-size 20-foot (6.1 m) long model of a Dilophosaurus to receive their next clue from a paleontologist. If at any point the paleontologist believed that the model was structurally unsafe, the racer had to find their mistake before they could continue building.

Additional tasks

• At the start of the leg, teams had to travel by train to Kunming and travel to Dounan Flower Market to find their next clue.
• At the end of the Detour, teams were only given a photo of their next location and were left to figure out that it was the Yunnan Province Cultural Center (referred to in the show as the Chinese Minority Heritage Center) to find the Double U-Turn board and their next clue.

Leg 6 (China → India)[]

Airdate: March 27, 2011

• Kunming (Jin Fu Yi Zhan Tea Shop)
• Kunming (Kunming Wujiaba International Airport) to Kolkata, India (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport)
• Kolkata (Kolkata Town Hall)
• Kolkata (Jorasanko Thakur Bari – Tiwari Tea Stall)
• Kolkata (Rakhal Paul and Sons Statue Shop or Dey's Publishing House and Victoria Institution High School and College)
• Kolkata (Maidan – Fountain of Joy)

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to take part in an Indian tea tasting ceremony. First, they had to bring a papaya, a mango, and the brick of tea teams received before leaving Kunming to the tea auctioneer. Then, they had to search among several hundred tea cups for one that held the same papaya-and-mango-infused tea that they tasted in China to receive their next clue from the tea auctioneer.

This leg's Detour was a choice between Hindu Art or Bengali Literature. In Hindu Art, teams traveled to the Rakhal Paul and Sons Statue Shop, where they had to paint and then dress a statue of the Hindu god Ganesha to receive their next clue. In Bengali Literature, teams traveled to the Dey's Publishing House and picked up eight bundles of the children's book Introduction to the Bengali Alphabet. They then got into a rickshaw school bus and traveled across town to the Victoria Institution High School and College, where they had to deliver the books to the office of the headmistress of the primary school to receive their next clue.

Additional tasks

• At Jin Fu Yi Zhan Tea Shop, teams took part in a Chinese tea tasting ceremony where they were given a taste of a papaya-and-mango-infused tea that, unbeknownst to them at the time, would be featured in the upcoming Roadblock in Kolkata. Along with their next clue, teams were given a brick of tea leaves that would also be needed for the Roadblock.
• After completing the Roadblock, teams were given a bottle of Snapple iced tea and were left to figure out that their next clue was printed on the inside of the cap, directing them to go to Jorasanko Thakur Bari in Jorasanko and then search for the Tiwari Tea Stall, where they could trade their Snapple bottle for their next clue.

Leg 7 (India)[]

Airdate: April 10, 2011

• Kolkata (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport) to Varanasi (Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport)
• Varanasi (Tonga Stand)
• Varanasi (Tulsi Ghat – Swaminath Akhara)
• Varanasi (Ganges – Sakka Ghat or Ksameshwar Ghat)
• Ramnagar (Ramnagar Fort)

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to search the streets of Varanasi for six different sadhus, depicted in a series of photographs they were given, who would give out one of six pieces of a phrase described as "the meaning of life": "Once you're over the hill you pick up speed". Once the racer had all six fragments of the phrase, he or she would have to provide the phrase to a seventh sadhu, who would give them their next clue.

This leg's Detour was a choice between Feed the Fire or Feed the Buffalo. In Feed the Fire, teams traveled down the Ganges to Sakka Ghat to the home of a milkman, where they had to make 50 traditional fuel patties made from water buffalo manure and then slap them against a wall to allow them to dry. When the supervisor was satisfied with their work and the patties were not too large or too small, teams had to light a stove with dried fuel patties to boil milk for local children before receiving their clue. In Feed the Buffalo, the teams had to cross the Ganges to collect two bales of hay, with an address attached to them. The teams then had to return over the Ganges to Ksameshwar Ghat and deliver their hay to the provided address to receive their next clue.

Additional task

• At the Swaminath Akhara at Tulsi Ghat, teams had to find a strongman to locate their next clue.

Leg 8 (India → Austria)[]

Airdate: April 17, 2011

• Varanasi (Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport) to Vienna, Austria (Vienna International Airport)
• Schollach (Schallaburg Castle)
• Vienna (Austrian National Library – Prunksaal)
• Vienna (Sigmund Freud Museum and University of Vienna or Wiener Riesenrad)
• Salzburg (Sternbräu Restaurant)
• Salzburg (Aigen – Villa Trapp (in German))

This leg's Detour was a choice between Long Hard Walk or Quick and Easy Meal. In Long Hard Walk, teams traveled to the Sigmund Freud Museum (Sigmund Freud's former home) to pick up a psychoanalysis couch, like the ones he used in his sessions, and then had to deliver it to his former office at the University of Vienna approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) away to receive their next clue. In Quick and Easy Meal, teams traveled to the Wiener Riesenrad ferris wheel where they picked up two large servings of the varied forms of traditional Austrian cuisine: Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerkraut, and Sachertorte. They then boarded one of the Riesenrad's dining cars where, while a violinist played some Viennese music, they would have to finish both servings within one 12-minute revolution of the ferris wheel before receiving their next clue. If they could not finish, they would have to start over.

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to choose a chimney sweep and then put on the traditional chimney sweep uniform. They then went onto a roof and used a weight with wire mesh on a rope to clean one of the chimneys three times. Once complete, they went to the basement and opened up one of the chimney cleaning doors that held their next clue.

Additional tasks

• At Vienna International Airport, teams went into one of the parking garages and chose a Ford Focus. Once inside the car, teams received a message from Phil directing them to put the car in reverse to activate the MyFord Touch's rear view camera system for their next clue. As they backed up, teams would be able to read the name of their next destination spelled out on the pavement behind the car (in German): Schloss Schallaburg.
• At Schallaburg Castle, teams were given a large book with a stamp on the front page with the text: "Librarian Prunksaal/Österreichische Nationalbibliothek", directing them to drive to the Austrian National Library and find the librarian in the Prunksaal section with whom they would exchange the book for their next clue.

Leg 9 (Austria → Liechtenstein → Switzerland)[]

Airdate: April 24, 2011

• Salzburg (Salzburg Hauptbahnhof) to Feldkirch (Feldkirch Railway Station)
• Schaanwald, Liechtenstein (Austria–Liechtenstein Border Crossing)
• Balzers (Gutenberg Castle)
• Balzers to Sargans, Switzerland (Sargans Railway Station)
• Sargans (Sargans Railway Station) to Zermatt (Zermatt Railway Station)
• Zermatt (Restaurant Walliserkanne Zermatt or Zermatt Railway Station)
• Zermatt (Hinterdorf – Inderbinen-Brunnen)
• Zermatt (Bergrestaurant-Moos)

For their Speed Bump, Gary & Mallory had to prepare the right mixture of gasoline and oil to power their VéloSoleX motorized bicycle for the Roadblock. They had to measure 25 parts gasoline to 1 part of oil, and had to figure out that 2 liters (0.53 U.S. gal) of gasoline would fulfill the mixture ratio, before they could continue racing.

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to use an odometer and a VéloSoleX to measure the entire length of the country of Liechtenstein, riding from Schaanwald to Balzers. At the Swiss border, they would meet up with six-time Winter Olympian and alpine ski racer Marco Büchel and would give him the distance that they traveled, written on the back of a postcard: 22 km (14 mi). If they were correct, Büchel would direct the racers to Gutenberg Castle where they would meet up with their teammate and read the next clue. If they were incorrect, they would have to travel back to Schaanwald and start over.

This leg's Detour was a choice between Cheese or Wheeze. In Cheese, teams traveled to the Restaurant Walliserkanne Zermatt, where they had to finish an entire pot of cheese fondue to receive an empty fondue pot with the name of the next location printed on the inside from the restaurateur. In Wheeze, teams had to dress up as bellhops and then pick up pieces of luggage from the Zermatt railway station. Then, using a luggage cart, they had to deliver the suitcases to different hotels throughout Zermatt where they would receive receipt tags for each piece of luggage. Once teams had a total of 20 receipt tags from at least five different hotels, they could trade them in to the head porter for their next clue.

Additional task

• At the start of the leg, teams had to travel by train to Feldkirch and then cross the Austrian-Liechtensteiner border at Schaanwald to find their next clue.
• After completing the Detour, teams had to travel by foot to Inderbinen-Brunnen statue to find the Double U-Turn board and their next clue.

Leg 10 (Switzerland)[]

Airdate: May 1, 2011

• Zermatt (Air Rescue Helicopter Port)
• Swiss Alps (Matterhorn Glacier)
• Swiss Alps (Matterhorn Glacier) to Riffelalp (Riffelalp Resort)
• (Gornergratbahn) Riffelalp (Riffelalp Railway Station) to Zermatt (Zermatt Railway Station)
• Zermatt (Le Petit Cervin)
• Zermatt (Chalet Gädi – Swiss Cabin)

This leg's Detour was a choice between two mountain rescue tasks: Search or Rescue. In Search, teams used a set of avalanche beacons to search the Matterhorn Glacier for a dummy buried in the snow. They then had to dig out the whole dummy before they could receive their next clue. In Rescue, teams had to use a special hoisting device to rescue a mountaineer trapped in a crevasse. One team member had to lower his or her teammate into the crevasse so they could attach a carabiner to the mountaineer. The teammate at the top then had to raise their partner back to the surface and then work together to bring up the rescued mountaineer, who would give them their next clue.

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to make a Travelocity Roaming Gnome out of Swiss chocolate. First, they had to decorate a chocolate mold with colored chocolate. Once the mold was properly decorated, the mold would be filled with chocolate and the team member had to bury it in the snow outside for 30 minutes in order to harden the chocolate. They then removed the gnome from the mold and covered up imperfections with more colored chocolate. Once the head chocolatier approved the gnome, teams would receive a real Roaming Gnome and their next clue.

Additional tasks

• At the Air Rescue Helicopter Port, teams had to sign up for a helicopter flight to their next location, each leaving at five-minute intervals. Before they left on their flight, they would receive their next clue for the Detour before being flown onto the Matterhorn.
• After completing the Detour, teams had to take a helicopter to Riffelalp ski resort and take a train down the mountain back to Zermatt to find their next clue.
• After the Roadblock, teams had to travel by foot to the Pit Stop at Swiss Cabin in Chalet Gädi.

Leg 11 (Switzerland → Brazil)[]

Airdate: May 8, 2011

• Zermatt (Zermatt Railway Station) (Pit Start)
• Zermatt (Zermatt Railway Station) to Kloten (Zürich Airport Railway Station)
• Zürich (Zurich Airport) to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport)
• Rio de Janeiro (Estação Carioca de Bondes de Santa Teresa to Carioca Aqueduct)
• Rio de Janeiro (Escadaria Selarón)
• Rio de Janeiro (Largo de São Francisco de Paula (in Portuguese))
• Rio de Janeiro (Centro de Orientação Profissional Salon)
• Rio de Janeiro (Leme Beach – Espaço OX or Copacabana Beach)
• Niterói (Praia de Boa Viagem (in Portuguese) overlooking Niterói Contemporary Art Museum)

In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to participate in a Rio Carnival parade. After putting on special costumes, they had to learn the samba and then lead a parade of dancers. If the Carnival Princess approved their dance, teams would receive their next clue; if not, they would be sent back to relearn the dance and try again.

This season's final Detour was a choice between On the Rocks or On the Beach. In On the Rocks, teams traveled to the Espaço OX bar, where they had to make 100 satisfactory caipirinhas to receive their next clue. In On the Beach, teams had to pick up an umbrella loaded with bikinis and a mobile changing station and sell the bikinis to people on Copacabana Beach. The buyers then had to change into the bikinis in the mobile changing station. Once teams earned R$100 (approximately US$60), they would receive their next clue.

Additional tasks

• Upon arrival in Rio de Janeiro, teams had to take a tram up to the top of the Carioca Aqueduct before disembarking and making their way on foot to Escadaria Selarón. There, they had to search the tile-covered steps for a Route Info tile that would have their next clue on the back.
• At the Centro de Orientação Profissional Salon, teams had to undergo a Brazilian body waxing session for 15 minute before receiving their next clue from a beautician.

Leg 12 (Brazil → United States)[]

Airdate: May 8, 2011

• Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport) to Miami, Florida, United States (Miami International Airport)
• Miami (Virginia Key – Rickenbacker Marina)
• Key Largo, Florida Keys (Jules' Undersea Lodge)
• Big Pine Key (U.S. 1 Mile Marker 29 – Seacamp)
• Monroe County (Horseshoe Island)
• Big Pine Key to Marathon (Galway Bay Mobile Home Park)
• Marathon (Old Seven Mile Bridge) to Pigeon Key (Pigeon Key Historic District)

In this leg's first Roadblock, one team member had to learn how to operate a heavy load forklift to move a boat into drydock without dropping the boat to receive their next clue from the forklift operator.

In this season's final Roadblock, the team member who did not perform the previous Roadblock had to use a BOBdive submersible to search the lagoon of the Jules' Undersea Lodge for one of several floating treasure chests that contained their next clue, while being surrounded by distracting mermaid divers who were swimming around them and playing music.

Additional tasks

• After completing the second Roadblock, teams were given a riddle telling them to go to the sea camp near a mile marker on Big Pine Key by "subtract[ing] 4 from 33": Mile Marker 29.
• At Mile Marker 29, teams were instructed to walk across a shallow portion of the Gulf of Mexico to Horseshoe Island, where they would find their next clue underneath the island's tallest tree. After getting the clue, teams were instructed to walk back to Big Pine Key where they would take a speedboat to the Galway Bay Mobile Home Park in Marathon.
• At Galway Bay, teams had to set up a travel trailer as it appeared in a brochure for Galway Bay, with a lawn, a pool, plastic flamingoes, and a table setting, among other amenities, to receive their final clue from Miss Rose.
• At the Old Seven Mile Bridge, teams had to ride large tricycles along the bridge to the Finish Line at Pigeon Key Historic District on Pigeon Key.^[c]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

The Amazing Race 18 received mixed reviews. Scott Von Doviak of The A.V. Club wrote that by the end of the season it was "finishing (mostly) strong after so many lackluster weeks along the way."^[26] Daniel Fienberg of HitFix wrote that "this 'Amazing Race' season was almost conspicuously designed to prevent memorable moments."^[27] Luke Dwyer of TV Fanatic wrote that "the start of The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business was chock full of dynamic challenges, interesting legs and surprises. As the number of teams got whittled down, the legs became less creative."^[28] Michael Hewitt of the Orange County Register wrote that "the show still has much to recommend it: spectacular locations, engrossing human drama and brilliant editing. But it needs to be a race once again."^[29] Patrick Hodges of CinemaBlend wrote that it was "all in all, a very good season. Lots of great locations, lots of sportsmanship, very few assclownish moments."^[30] In 2016, this season was ranked 13th out of the first 27 seasons by the Rob Has a Podcast Amazing Race correspondents.^[31] Kareem Gantt of Screen Rant wrote that this "the legs are fantastically planned and executed, the suspense was high, and viewers even got some emotional eliminations that made for great TV."^[32] In 2021, Jane Andrews of Gossip Cop ranked this season as the show's 7th best season.^[33]

Ratings[]

U.S. Nielsen ratings[]

#	Airdate	Episode	Rating	Share	Rating/Share	Viewers	Rank	Rank	Rank	Rank
			Households		18–49	(millions)	Timeslot (Viewers)	Timeslot (18–49)	Week (Viewers)	Week (18–49)
1	February 20, 2011	"Head Down and Hold On"	5.1	8	2.5/7	9.15[34]	#2	#1 (tied)	#30	(<#25)
2	February 27, 2011	"I Never Looked So Foolish in My Whole Entire Life"	4.3	7	2.1/5	7.68[35]	#2	#3	(<#30)	(<#25)
3	March 6, 2011	"We Had a Lot of Evil Spirits Apparently"	5.5	9	2.7/7	9.78[36]	#2	#2	#22	#23
4	March 13, 2011	"This is the Most Stupid Day Ever"	5.3	9	2.7/8	9.44[37]	#2	#2	#21	#17
5	March 20, 2011	"Don't Ruin the Basketball Game"	5.7	9	2.8/8	10.13[38]	#1	#1 (tied)	#13	#18
6	March 27, 2011	"I Feel Like a Monkey in a Circus Parade"	6.2	10	3.2/9	10.96[39]	#1	#1	#12	#14
7	April 10, 2011	"You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"	6.0	9	2.9/8	10.48[40]	#1	#1	#21	#18
8	April 17, 2011	"I Cannot Deal With Your Psycho Behavior"	5.1	8	2.4/7	8.78[41]	#1	#1	#22	(<#25)
9	April 24, 2011	"We're Good American People"	5.3	9	2.6/8	9.37[42]	#1	# 1	#17	#15
10	May 1, 2011	"Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen"	5.3	8	2.6/7	9.20[43]	n/a	n/a	#20	#18
11	May 8, 2011	"This is Where It Ends"	5.0	8	2.5/7	8.97[44]	#2	#1	(<#25)	#24

• Episode 2, "I Have Never Looked So Foolish In My Whole Entire Life", aired the same night as the 83rd Academy Awards.
• Episode 9, "We're Good American People", aired on Easter Sunday.
• Episode 11, "This is Where It Ends", the two-hour season finale, aired on Mother's Day. It was the lowest-rated season finale in the show's history until the season 26 finale.

Canadian ratings[]

Canadian broadcaster CTV also airs The Amazing Race on Sundays at 8 p.m., with only two exceptions: Episode two aired an hour earlier than its normal start time due to CTV's broadcast of the 83rd Academy Awards. Episode six aired an hour earlier due to the said network's broadcast of the 2011 Juno Awards.

#	Airdate	Episode	Viewers (millions)	Rank (Week)
1	February 20, 2011	"Head Down and Hold On"	2.66	#4[45]
2	February 27, 2011	"I Never Looked So Foolish in My Whole Entire Life"	1.62	#20[46]
3	March 6, 2011	"We Had a Lot of Evil Spirits Apparently"	2.79	#1[47]
4	March 13, 2011	"This is the Most Stupid Day Ever"	2.53	#3[48]
5	March 20, 2011	"Don't Ruin the Basketball Game"	2.44	#3[49]
6	March 27, 2011	"I Feel Like a Monkey in a Circus Parade"	1.81	#12[50]
7	April 10, 2011	"You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"	2.44	#5[51]
8	April 17, 2011	"I Cannot Deal With Your Psycho Behavior"	2.57	#1[52]
9	April 24, 2011	"We're Good American People"	2.33	#5[53]
10	May 1, 2011	"Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen"	2.74	#3[54]
11	May 8, 2011	"This is Where It Ends"	2.70	#2[55]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website