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Dancing With the Stars Season 18, Week 5 Recap: Which Fan-Favorite Couple Was Eliminated on Disney Night?

Danica McKellar and Maksim Chmerkovskiy on 'Dancing with the Stars'
Find out which fan-favorite Dancing With the Stars couple was eliminated on Disney night -- plus, which couple got the first perfect score of the season?

When you wish upon a star…you get a night of Disney magic and music! Following last week's controversial switch-up, week five of Dancing With the Stars' 18th season reunited the celebs with their original pro partners for routines set to songs from new and old Disney movies, including The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Frozen. Alas, one couple's happily ever after came to an early end with the show's first elimination since week two. Let's recap! See more behind the scenes pics of the cast.

Drew Carey and Cheryl Burke

Drew and Cheryl breathed a sigh of relief before their routine, as Tom Bergeron announced that they were safe from elimination. Unfortunately, their quickstep this week — to "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin — wasn't quite up to par, though it did feature a fun animated guest appearance in the form of the Genie. 

"This routine was, I tell you, zip a dee doo dah," judge Len Goodman said. "The performance had plenty of zip, the technique was very doo dah." Added Bruno Tonioli: "You always deliver great performances, but the quickstep requires very, very precise delivery." 

Score: 28 out of 40 (7 from each judge)

Charlie White and Sharna Burgess

Like Drew and Cheryl before them, Charlie and Sharna went into their dance knowing that they would not be eliminated at the end of the night. That knowledge seemed to put a little extra spring in their step; with the exception of one dropped prop, their jazz number to the fast-paced "Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious" from Mary Poppins was, in Bruno's words, "almost perfect."

"That was one of the best performances we've ever seen," Bruno gushed. Added Len: "Don't worry about Mary Poppins, that was eye-poppin'!" Of the dropped umbrella, he said, "I'm not worried, because I thought you just came out and wowed this place."

Score: 37 out of 40 (10 from Len, 9 from everyone else)

Related: PHOTOS: All of the season 18 contestants

Danica McKellar and Val Chmerkovskiy

Danica and Val — also safe from elimination this week — wowed the judges with their quickstep to the Beauty and the Beast classic "Be Our Guest." Carrie Ann Inaba was so impressed, in fact, that she got up to give Danica a hug after the routine. "You matched perfectly! It was like my own version of Beauty and the Beast come to life just for me!" she raved. Added guest judge Donny Osmond: "Both of you guys knocked it out of the park."

Score: 39 out of 40 (9 from Len, 10 from everyone else)

Amy Purdy and Derek Hough

Amy and Derek have consistently been near the top of the leaderboard, but they struggled a bit to prepare for this week's dance, a waltz to the Cinderella song "So This Is Love." Amy broke down at multiple points during rehearsal, visibly discouraged by her disability. "This is the first time I feel like my legs aren't working the way they're supposed to," she said through her tears. "This is the hardest dance yet."

Ultimately, she and Derek pulled through, once again exceeding everyone's expectations. "I don't know how you're doing it, but you are doing it. You are a serious contender," Donny gushed. Carrie Ann, meanwhile, noted that she would normally take points off for lifts but felt they were warranted given the circumstances. "I thought you were so elegant," she told Amy. 

Score: 37 out of 40 (10 from Donny, 9 from everyone else)

Cody Simpson and Witney Carson

Cody and Witney went into their dance a little uncertainly, after Tom Bergeron broke the bad news that they were one of the couples in jeopardy this week. They definitely had something to prove — and they did so with an energetic samba to "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King. "You really came out and sold that," Len said. Donny disagreed, telling Cody it didn't seem like he was enjoying himself.

Score: 34 out of 40 (9 from Carrie Ann and Bruno, 8 from Len and Donny)

Related: PHOTOS: Jaw-dropping DWTS makeovers

NeNe Leakes and Tony Dovolani

Things were definitely tense between NeNe and Tony after last week's switch-up — even before they found out they were in jeopardy. At one point during rehearsals, NeNe got so fed up with what she perceived as a bad attitude from Tony that she walked out on him. "You've got an attitude," she told him. "If you want to go back to Candace, you call production so you can go back to Candace…I don't deserve an attitude. So goodbye."

In the end, though, they patched things up and came back stronger than ever, with a high-scoring foxtrot to "Cruella de Vil" from 101 Dalmatians. "The switch-up was the best thing that ever happened to you!" Carrie Ann exclaimed. Added Len: "I'm telling you, you two are a match made in dance heaven."

Score: 36 out of 40 (9 from each judge)

James Maslow and Peta Murgatroyd

James' intro package featured a special-needs high school student named Hannah, who invited him to prom via a viral YouTube video. Because of DWTS rehearsals, however, James was unable to accept — so to make it up to Hannah, he invited her, her mom, and her sister to watch his performance this week, a contemporary routine to the Oscar-winning song "Let It Go" from Frozen.

The dance ended up being James and Peta's best yet — and the first of any couple's routine this season to earn a perfect score. "That would melt even the coldest heart, even mine," Len raved. Donny, too, praised the "amazing choreography" and "mesmerizing" athleticism, while Carrie Ann confessed that she cried through the whole thing. "Every move you did was pure emotion," she gushed.

Score: 40 out of 40 (10 from each judge)

Meryl Davis and Maks Chmerkovskiy

Maks was told last week by guest judge Julianne Hough that it seemed like he was just "phoning it in" during his dance with Danica McKellar. The other judges didn't necessarily agree, but there's no denying that he's better when he's with Meryl. "You actually dance like you're part of one body," Carrie Ann marveled after the couple's samba to "I Wanna Be Like You" from The Jungle Book. "You guys, from the get-go," Donny piped in, "have set the bar so high."

Score: 36 out of 40 (9 from each judge)

Candace Cameron Bure and Mark Ballas

After ending up on the bottom of the leaderboard last week, Candace was ready to take some risks with both her dancing and her costumes. She even loosened up her "no sexy outfits" rule and rocked a seashell bra, sequined skirt, and red wig as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. The judges praised her samba to "Under the Sea," though Carrie Ann said she thought Candace could be even better. "You're one of my favorite movers on this season," she said. "It was very well-rehearsed and well-executed, but you have another notch." 

Score: 35 out of 40 (8 from Carrie Ann, 9 from everyone else)

in the end, Candace and Mark joined Cody and Witney and NeNe and Tony on the chopping block. Candace and NeNe were saved by viewer votes, leaving Cody — whose hordes of teenage fans brought hand-painted signs to the ballroom every week — out in the cold.

"I'm sad," Witney said after their elimination. "I feel like people didn't really get a chance to see Cody yet."

Cody, too, was disappointed, but grateful for the short time he'd had on the show. "Dancing With the Stars has affected my life in an overwhelmingly positive way," he said in his farewell package. "It's definitely an experience I'll remember for the rest of my life."?

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