TAR 27: Route Spoilers (No Elimination Info)

[georgiapeach]

 

TAR 27 will have an OPEN START!!
 
All are welcome!! Start time will be listed as 0900, but for the full experience I highly recommend being there by 0700! Exact location to follow.

[ProfCrash]

They are starting at Venice Beach and it is an open start, like the NY City one was a few years back. It was linked on Facebook but my work site is blocking the announcement site so I can't post the link.  Sorry

[georgiapeach]

Update from CBS via twitter:

 

The Amazing Race ‏@AmazingRace_CBS  · 2h2 hours ago 
The next #AmazingRace adventure begins Monday in CA! Join us at the Venice Boardwalk Graffiti Wall to send off the teams starting @ 8am PT

[Vyas]

Continuing last season's repeat first city, Leg 1 will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - just like Season 2 and the third visit after its stint as UB's penultimate destination.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Vyas

[theschnauzers]

TAR (basically, Bertram loves going to Olympic host cities -- but either the year before or the year after. Rio's a bit unusual this time only because they're hitting there in the year between the World Cup and the Olympics.

[SnideAsides]

With the last three seasons all having themes (islands in TAR25, with Morocco apparently being a last-minute substitute for Qatar, which isn't an island either but is much closer to fitting the theme), I feel like an all-Olympics theme might actually be plausible? It's a northern-hemisphere-summer race, so Europe overstaying its welcome is likely. Melbourne's been heavily rumoured every season since at least TAR22. It's now standard to have a leg in a German-speaking country, and Germany, Austria, Switzerland have all had the Olympics in the past. We're due for yet another visit to China. Russia's probably due too albeit unlikely given the current climate, but they could cheat by having legs in Tallinn, Kiev, or Minsk (the former hosted all of the sailing events in 1980, the latter two both hosted soccer matches). Africa is unlikely.

 

I could see them doing something like this:

1: LA to Rio de Janeiro

2: Rio de Janeiro

3: Rio de Janeiro to Lillehammer (via Oslo)

4: Lillehammer to Minsk

5: Minsk to Innsbruck

6: Innsbruck to Athens

7: Athens to Beijing

8: Beijing to Seoul

9: Seoul to Melbourne

10: Melbourne

11: Melbourne to Mexico City

12: Mexico City to St. Louis

 

Now watch them go from Rio to, like, Angola or wherever.

[TheRabbi]

I'm going to make a valiant effort this season to avoid 'Results' spoilers, of which I have failed nearly every season.  And since RFF doesn't have a thread without results spoilers, I'm going to try to avoid that forum now that they're off and running.  They have the results of leg 1 posted, and I was able to avert my eyes narrowly before seeing who was last.

 

So bottom line, I'll probably be relying on this thread over the next few weeks, as I do love Location spoilers.  I enjoyed the spoilers much more 5 years ago when they showed up once in a great while and were more vague, such as a random picture.  I have no interest in knowing the exact pit stop arrival order of every leg beforehand which is often what we get now in today's technological age.

 

My early prediction, since we've started in South America for likely at least 2 legs, will be a route very reminiscent of season 23.  Europe got a bit of a reprieve last season, so it will likely get hit hard.  I hope I'm wrong as we are seriously overdue for an Australian visit.

[Vyas]

Actually, it would be the last six seasons that had themes: megacities in S21, wilderness in S22, and proximity to major bodies of water in S23 (Vienna's naturally being the Danube).

 

Speaking of Austria, it's the exception that proves the rule of Germanophone legs appearing on Northern-Hemisphere winter seasons, i.e. even-numbered ones: Interlaken-Stechelberg/Ruhpolding/Salzburg in S14, Hamburg in S16, Vienna/Salzburg/Liechtenstein/Zermatt in UB, rural Bavaria in S20, Grindelwald/Berlin in S22, Lucerne in S24, and Munich in S26 (no, the cluebox at Hamburg Central Station in S19 doesn't count). A summertime episode in the Flemish-speaking side of Belgium would be more probable. 

 

Aside: Doha and environs getting the axe for S25 sounds rather incongruent on several levels - when the Arabian peninsula hosted legs on near-consecutive seasons in the past, it did so from both directions, e.g. five eastbound teams in Oman during S9 versus seven westbound teams in Kuwait during S10, then eight/seven westbound teams in the United Arab Emirates during S15 versus six eastbound teams in Oman during S17. Given this supposed original itinerary of Denmark -> Italy -> Malta -> Qatar -> Bahrain (to overcome the intrinsic limits of a quasi-micronation as well as preserving the pan-archipelago route) -> Singapore and keeping the NEL sequence intact, it would amount to the same exact double-F6 round that Abu Dhabi and al-Ain already had just two seasons ago as opposed to the aforementioned precedents.

 

Belarus is practically the Timor Leste of Europe and hence an unrealistic prospect for a new destination, especially one that would be part of a seasonal theme that originally featured a pizza-eating task. Recent unrest in Ukraine itself would rule it out as well, considering that the Arab Spring single-handedly limited TAR's presence in the core of the Islamic World during the early 10's to outlying Baku and Istanbul. As for Estonia, it's more imperative that Latvia get its first leg as the remaining unvisited Batic nation, long overdue since the start of the HD era. Plus, instead of an retread Olympian theme, how about something more innovative such as Koppen climate systems or global cuisines/anthems/costumes for a superior final memory challenge? (Beginning with tropical savannah, feijoada, Hino Nacional Brasileiro, and Carnival outfits, respectively?)

 

An episode in (Mainland) China is almost imminent after the double-Guangzhou disaster: somewhere in the Shandong region would be much preferable to the fourth visit for Beijing/HK/Shanghai. Finally, the prospect of Australia having its first ever Southern Hemisphere winter visit would be more than enough to surpass the non-Anglophone penultimate leg caveat, especially if Melba is the first half to a grueling snowy Tasmanian adventure before returning to the States.

 

Thus:

1. Rio de Janeiro via Los Angeles
2. Sao Paulo
3. Antwerp via Brussels
4. Liege
5. Rovaniemi
6. Riga
7. Bengaluru a.k.a. Bangalore
8. Goa
9. Dalian
10. Melbourne
11. Hobart/Launceston
12. Minneapolis/StPaul

[Quilt Fairy]

Or, maybe they just spin a globe and stick pins in it.

[Vyas]

My early prediction, since we've started in South America for likely at least 2 legs, will be a route very reminiscent of season 23.  Europe got a bit of a reprieve last season, so it will likely get hit hard.  I hope I'm wrong as we are seriously overdue for an Australian visit.

 

There seems to be some MERS epidemic in Asia that will limit the (endgame?) choices on that continent, particularly South Korea.

 

Speaking of four seasons ago, Norway already had its third visit then, which would reorient the Arctic Circle destination to Finland, incidentally seen on the Israeli edition's most recent production.

 

The new Chinese (i.e. not China Rush) version was able to film in Greece last autumn, though four back-to-back seasons in the Mediterranean reeks of repetition.

 

As for Mexico, an Oceania/Asia to Mesoamerica penultimate flight would break both the reduced budget and Keoghan's own words at the Venice Beach starting line that S27 will race for just 21 days.

[Vyas]

Continuing last season's repeat first city, Leg 1 will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - just like Season 2 and the third visit after its stint as UB's penultimate destination.

 

Leg 2 will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina*, just like its original visit all the way back in S5, but now during the South American winter, a very recent trend started by S23's aseasonal premiere in Chile.

 

Leg 3 will then stay inside the national borders and shift to San Antonio de Areco (a town in the Pampas region), including an imminent Switchback to S7's MeatBlock despite it originally happening on the other side of the country:

 

 

* BsAs will also appear less than a month from now on Canada's upcoming season, making it the third Anglophone visit to the Argentine capital in the span of just over a year (the first one served as the penultimate leg of the latest Australian version).

Edited June 27, 2015 by Vyas

[SnideAsides]

San Antonio de Areco was also where the Pit Stop was during that TAR5 visit.

[Vyas]

The first of two PitStops, that is, the second one being at the Patagonian town of San Carlos de Bariloche.

 

Legs 4 and 5 are strongly suspected to be in Zambia, TAR's very first destination: to put it into perspective, the last season to go directly from South America to Africa was the first All-Stars.

[Vyas]

Let us rejoice at the first triple-Africa chain in a long time (the last being S10-S12):

 

Edited July 6, 2015 by Vyas

[theschnauzers]

Let's be very specific in that TAR is returning to the location of its first destination ever (season one, leg one) Victoria Falls, Zambia, and possible a return visit to Songwe Village.

 

I can't even begin to say how happy that makes me.

[SnideAsides]

I hope they have Gabriel as the greeter again, just to bring it full circle. (I mean, they could do the ostrich egg thing again, but... no, especially with the apparent Meatblock switchback precisely nobody has been clamoring for the leg before.)

[TheRabbi]

I'm so glad I was wrong about the route progression. With the South America start, and the fact they had been to Africa twice in a row, I figured they would skip it this time. But Zambia and Victoria Falls is an awesome choice. Can't wait for those episodes. If leg 4 and 5 were there, it would be crazy if Europe was bypassed and they went through Asia and Australia. Kind of doubt it, but never know. I'll predict a couple legs in Europe next, since since the MERS virus is limiting safe Asian territories

[Vyas]

Leg 6 will continue the TAR Classic vibe in Paris - it's France's first back-to-back showing ever.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Vyas

[TheRabbi]

Phil did say in an interview this season would have some moments reminiscent of season 1.  At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if the whole route is TAR Classic, except subbing out Tunisia, which may be unsafe, for the opening legs in South America.

 

Although on second thought, they just did 2 legs in Thailand last season, so I guess that's doubtful.  However, if they add some more classic locations from early races, this is shaping up to be a great route.  We've got Rio from s2, the Meatblock from s7 (this challenge is famous but I'm not a fan), and then Zambia and Paris from s1.  Great start.

[Vyas]

No thanks to Delhi getting its third visit* or Beijing its fourth - if it must be retread cities, Chennai and Xi'an or bust!

 

(After an inaugural trip to Bratislava or elsewhere brand new, of course.)

 

* Especially when the Canadian season starting next week already goes there.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Vyas

[Vyas]

Leg 7 will rehash another nation from last season: the Netherlands, though at least the Hague will make its debut (wasn't the Amsterdam plus Nice and Munich combo enough of a S4 throwback even without the presence of India?):

 

Edited July 4, 2015 by Vyas

[SnideAsides]

A Dutch visit without Amsterdam? GOD, FINALLY. I don't have any problems with cities turning up more than once, and Paris is beyond overdue for a revisit just as Rome was a few seasons back, but I'd be quite happy if the race never went to Amsterdam again. And I love the Netherlands.

 

Beyond sick of having to have a "German or Dutch speakers" leg every season though. Aside from TAR25, the last season without at least one was TAR17, and before that you've gotta go all the way back to TAR13 (which completely ignored all of non-Moscow Europe).

[Vyas]

Er, S15 held all its tasks in the Netherlands well outside the Randstad and only used it as a landing point from Dubai. A'dam also has yet to host an RB within city limits, so a fifth visit sometime after S30 would be warranted if the show somehow survives past that point.

 

Anyhow, the Zimbabwean border seems to have been crossed in Leg 5 via the Zambezi River crossing, which would add it to the Malta/Monaco club of "most recent new nations visited".

Edited July 6, 2015 by Vyas

[TheRabbi]

Count me among those that is ready for Amsterdam to be retired.    Season 15's leg in the country was refreshing, and hopefully 27's will be equally so.

 

RFF is reporting that leg 8 is in Krakow, Poland.  That's 7 countries visited in 8 legs so far, which is particularly great, as seasons 24 and 26 only managed to get to 7 through the whole race.  I'm guessing legs 9 through 11 will likely hit 2 different countries in Asia for hopefully a great last third.  It kind of shows how far the race has come, that I kind of hope they hit India again for at least a leg.  We were used to never going back to back seasons without the country, and it's now been absent for 6 straight!

[Vyas]

The thing is, The Hague is roughly twice as close to A'dam as the latter is to Groningen: it's really unimaginative of production to keep skipping the southern half of the country, e.g. Maastricht and the rest of the Limburg region.

 

As for the third trip to Poland, color me disappointed; the Czech Republic or Hungary would've been superior alternatives especially since it was only four seasons ago that the Gdansk episode took place.

 

One can only hope that they steer clear of Cambodia, lest Jeff Probst take the place of a Khmer Rouge survivor - pun intended - as the greeter.

[SnideAsides]

The thing is, The Hague is roughly twice as close to A'dam as the latter is to Groningen: it's really unimaginative of production to keep skipping the southern half of the country, e.g. Maastricht and the rest of the Limburg region.

 

To be fair, that's a bit like saying Agra is closer to Delhi than Goa, therefore TAR shouldn't visit the Taj Mahal.

 

I'd imagine the lack of international airports in the Netherlands (five) is a big part of the reason they haven't been to Limburg. With the tight production schedule and the need to get everybody in and out quickly and cheaply, Groningen and Schiphol are too far north, Rotterdam-The Hague is too far west, and all of the airlines that fly to Eindhoven and Maastricht except Ryanair would be on the blacklist.

One can only hope that they steer clear of Cambodia, lest Jeff Probst take the place of a Khmer Rouge survivor - pun intended - as the greeter.

Not cool. You wouldn't ask why Poland didn't use a Holocaust survivor.

[Vyas]

On the contrary, Agra was already part of TAR Classic whereas not even the Asian edition has ever gone to Goa.

 

A pragmatic solution to the logistical restrictions of the Dutch airport quintet would be to land in Brussels - Zaventem if arriving from the Americas/Africa/Asia, Charleroi if elsewhere on the Continent -  and have teams drive across the border: WRP's aversion to Belgium is inexplicably self-defeating, given that the Walloon region alone would make for an interesting variation of Francophone legs without actually taking place in France proper, c.f. the second Swiss episode from S3.

 

Canadian D-Day veteran Jim Parks was the greeter for TARCAN2's first French leg in Normandy - if a foreigner who endured the trauma(s) of WW2 can remind the racers of the human scope beyond the competition, then a native person who outlived Pol Pot would be even more inspirational as opposed to exploitative.

[SnideAsides]

TAR1 also took 33 days to film, compared to the 21 we get now.

 

They're not going to make players fly into Belgium just to get them over the border into Limburg - they didn't even use any Belgian airports when they were actually IN the country in TAR19. And while they used trains that time, I can't see them doing it now.

 

There was a cultural link to Canada in that case, as there was when Israel's version had a Holocaust survivor sombrely welcome teams to a Pit Stop in Krakow's former ghetto, and I just don't see a hypothetical veteran of a foreign war very few Americans even care about would have the same impact.

 

In on topic news: India's back! (And, ironically enough? Uttar Pradesh, the province that's home to both Agra from TAR1 and Lucknow from TAR7.)

[Vyas]

The original season having close to a fortnight's more time to film didn't stop it from going to touristy landmarks; in contrast, the current three-week schedule should encourage more travel to new regions of old countries rather than returning to already visited monuments.

With all due respect, it's an exercise in futility to conflate what production has done to what they're actually limited from doing. Just because S19 entered the country by land as opposed to air doesn't mean that future visits will do the same. Before launching into some tired claim of never having written such and such, acknowledge that the proof remains outside the public domain. Who gets the final say besides Bertram and company?

Edited July 8, 2015 by GenL
Personal attack

[kassygreene]

Season 1 took 39 days, but that's partly because of an airport strike in Rome, a sandstorm in Tunisia, and if memory serves, they got stuck at least a few day in India negotiating exit visas and/or tickets with the Indian government, which led to AR not revisiting India for many seasons...  Also, they were still figuring out how the Race would work

[Whimsy]

This is just a reminder to stay ON TOPIC. This has veered off and I'd like to rein it back in! Also, keep your responses civil.

Thanks and happy posting!

[theschnauzers]

Season one was delayed in Paris, as Phil, production and some teams got sick (from the flu, IIRC).

 

Some of the changes in the "game" -- no fixed length pit stops being the most notable, and the ability to release teams to accomodate flights that take them to the next country/continent, has a lot to do with the shorter production filming time.

 

Phil had indicated in Venice Beach to bystanders that they were listening to the fans and taking TAR back to its roots. They've seemed to have done that literally., hence, five of the legs so far this season are from TAR 1, the Polish leg was from TAR 11, the three legs in Brazil and Argentina seem to be reprises of TAR 2/3/7. And I wouldn't be surprised if there are more throwbacks to those early season before filming ends.

 

The route this season should have been the route out of TImes Square in season 25, and it would have been appropriate, to say the least. I have little complaints about it since they've acknowldged up front that they were going to do it. I hear that Phil asked Rob and Brennan while setting up at the start line, "Remember Songwe Village?" Who knew that Phil meant it literally.

 

I will enjoy this season when it airs in the fall because the route just seems to be tremendous, given they had set out to pay homage to those early seasons.and it seems they have done so. I just hope this season's teams measure up to the high bar this season set for itself with the route.

Edited July 10, 2015 by theschnauzers

[SnideAsides]

RFF is confirming that the India visit is indeed to Agra.

[Vyas]

As well as the second half of the TBC during Romber's first season:

 

1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2. Buenos Aires, Argentina
3. San Antonio de Areco, Argentina
4. Livingstone and Victoria Falls, Zambia
5. the Zimbabwean border along the Zambezi River
6. Paris, France
7. the Hague, the Netherlands
8. Krakow, Poland
9. Agra, India
10. Jodhpur, India
11. probably China

Edited July 10, 2015 by Vyas

[TheRabbi]

Well said theschnauzers. With all the throwbacks this season, I'd be surprised if leg 11 is NOT in Beijing. Despite that they've been there 3 times now, they haven't since season 14 so they might think they're overdue. I'd rather see them go to Xi'an and the Terra Cotta warrior museum myself. We'll know soon enough.

I'll take a random guess and say San Fran gets the finale, though I'd rather see Seattle.

[Vyas]

With all the throwbacks this season, I'd be surprised if leg 11 is NOT in Beijing. Despite that they've been there 3 times now, they haven't since season 14 so they might think they're overdue. I'd rather see them go to Xi'an and the Terra Cotta warrior museum myself. We'll know soon enough.

I'll take a random guess and say San Fran gets the finale, though I'd rather see Seattle.

 

Why did you overlook Taiwan? Last season downplayed it to the extreme as a mere connecting point to Japan despite featuring its airlines as the goals of the mud-obstacle Starting Line Challenge.

 

It would be the Bay Area's first ever summer finale (mirroring premiere city RdJ having its first "winter" visit) - the other three all occurred in either autumn or winter.

[theschnauzers]

Vyas, keep in mind what Bert and Elise are doing with the route this time.

 

Some of the possiblilities may end up being shifted at the last minute due to several tropical cyclones approaching different parts of the Chinese coastline, the Philippines, Taiwan, and which will affect Vietnam, Korea, and Japan about the time they should be looking to get back to North America in the next few days. Indonesia may be out as well due to an active volcano that is closing airports and airspace in that region as well. All of this could be an issue with the trans-Pacific flights back to the U.S.

 

I wouldn't hazard a guess personally, the above environmental factors ar going to be in play.

[Vyas]

Vyas, keep in mind what Bert and Elise are doing with the route this time.

 

In that case, let the penultimate episode be in Delhi with the PitStop at the Red Fort and a direct flight to New York City for the finale; China need not be the only country ever to host three consecutive legs on original-edition TAR for much longer.

[Vyas]

It's indeed going to be the first time since S20 that Southeast Asia will be skipped, for the eleventh leg will take place in Macau via Hong Kong!

 

 

Updated Route:

 

1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2. Buenos Aires, Argentina
3. San Antonio de Areco, Argentina
4. Livingstone and Victoria Falls, Zambia
5. the Zimbabwean border along the Zambezi River
6. Paris, France
7. the Hague, the Netherlands
8. Krakow, Poland
9. Agra, India
10. Jodhpur, India
11. Macau and Hong Kong

[TheRabbi]

RFF says TAR27 wrapped today in good ole New York City.  Pretty quick turnaround from just hosting the finale in TAR21.  With the throwback theme of this season, I wonder if perhaps the globe at Flushing Meadow was involved?  That may be a bit too public for a finish line these days (remember TAR21 ended indoors).

 

The odds of it matching TAR21's fantastic finale are low, but overall I am very pleased with the route.  Can't wait for September!

[SnideAsides]

It's also the first "eastern" finish city for a Europe-before-Asia race since Chicago in season six, if you can believe it.

[Vyas]

 

Final Route:

 

1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2. Buenos Aires, Argentina
3. San Antonio de Areco, Argentina
4. Livingstone and Victoria Falls, Zambia
5. the Zimbabwean border along the Zambezi River
6. Paris, France
7. the Hague, the Netherlands
8. Krakow, Poland
9. Agra, India
10. Jodhpur, India
11. Macau and Hong Kong*
12. New York City

 

 

*:

 

ETA: Photo brought over from RealityFanForum, authors serendipity and Candi Lee.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Vyas
add photo credit info

[Bella]

Please give photo credits. Thanks!

[SnideAsides]

Apparently part of the reason there were so few NYC sightings is because the bulk of the leg was actually in the Hamptons. And... like, it's definitely time for New England to appear on the race (aside from the NYC start/finishes, the only other time it's appeared is that time they randomly ditched LA for a season to start in Boston), but a race around the world, one of the most impressive courses we've had in years, and it ends in the Hamptons?

[theschnauzers]

It's not entirely clear that the finish mat was in the Hamptons. The weather in the NYC area was rainy on Tuesday, and that would cut down on the number of people who could have seen something, even in the Hamptons. It does sound as if one task was there, but that does not equal the whole leg, and that is based on one second hand  reporrt and I haven't seen any others. It's unusual not to have a single photo or tweet, but that is what it is.

[Vyas]

One must thank Miss Cleo in providing precise spoilers for the results of the recent Juneau and Vegas2.0 finishes well in advance of their respective finale airdates, which would've otherwise remained unknown until then.

 

[Vyas]

In anticipation for the Sept. 25 premiere, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the five continents and 10 countries the season 27 contestants will visit on their more-than-34-thousand-mile journey.

In alphabetical order:

Agra, India

Buenos Aires, Argentina (Where they'll learn a tango with a twist.)

Hong Kong/Macau, China (Where they'll partake in a high-flying water show.)

Krakow, Poland

Long Island, New York

Paris (Where they'll drop mics with a French rapper.)

Rio de Janeiro

San Antonio de Areco, Argentina

Victoria Falls, Zambia

Plus, for the first time, The Amazing Race contestants will visit the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, and the country of Zimbabwe, where they'll free fall over 200 feet into the Batoka Gorge and swim with crocodiles.

http://www.people.com/article/amazing-race-season-27-route-sneak-peek

The cast of TAR Classic would certainly roll their eyes upon hearing that Batoka George's nationality was Zimbabwean rather than Zambian, though kudos to WRP for managing to visit the rest of the Randstad without so much as a single team being seen in the process - just PK at the PitStop.

[georgiapeach]

ALERT: People viewing the video in the article who are aware of the route order, WILL be seeing teams in the locations, which could give away what teams are still racing at certain locations. Subtle, but could be considered possible spoilers.

[cooksdelight]

Spoiler tag inserted. Be careful when posting video links that show the racers later on. Thanks!

[Vyas]

Very well, here's a handier representation of this season's course: