The first "Christmas" episode.
The events in "The Amazing Race Birthday Party 2010" take place on December 10, 2010, just three days after the service project section and the day before the Christmas party section of this episode. The events in "The Amazing Race Birthday Party 2010" are separate from this episode because it would be too much for this episode and could very well be in their stand-alone episode. This is the first instance where this happens.
The Wright family that is visited is Teddy Wright's family.
Second episode to be filmed in San Francisco.
The specific Cable Car line seen in this episode is the Powell/Hyde line that starts at Powell and Market, heads north on Powell, turns left on Jackson, right on Hyde, and runs up Hyde to the Aquatic Park. The route back is the same, only the Cable Cars turn on Washington instead of Jackson.