3DS Toad Circuit

Toad Circuit is the introductory course of Mario Kart 7. It is the first race of the Mushroom Cup and takes place at a basic circuit where giant balloons of various Toads are seen floating throughout it. This course appears on the cover art of Mario Kart 7, and the award ceremony also takes place on this course at the end of a Grand Prix. It shares its music with Mario Circuit.

Toad Circuit returns in Mario Kart Tour, debuting in the New York Tour alongside the rest of Mario Kart 7's Mushroom Cup, and in the Booster Course Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the second course of the Golden Dash Cup.

Course layout
The course is a simple circuit with few obstacles, as it is the first course in the game and is thus comparable to Luigi Circuit in previous installments. Giant mushrooms are seen through out the track in different sizes and three large balloons of Toads (red, blue, and yellow) are floating along the track as well. Banners of Toad himself can be seen throughout the course with the accompanying Mario Kart logo. The track begins on a long straightaway that is partially suspended over another part of the track. It is followed by a prolonged turn, before straightening out and crossing under the first part of the track. There is a brief split around the poles holding up the bridge, with Dash Panels along each side and traffic cones positioned between them. After 40 seconds pass, a ramp rises from the ground in front of the bridge, allowing the player to use their glider and spar over it (though they are counted out-of-bounds if they land on it). Then there is a tunnel that curves left, a right turn, a more gradual left turn, and then a big curve where lots of coins can be collected before crossing the finish line to start the next lap.

There is a pair of toadstools displayed on the touch screen map that are not present in the actual course itself; these were restored when the course was remade for Mario Kart Tour.

Shortcuts

 * After the tunnel, there is a ramp in a sand pit, where the player needs a Mushroom to cross. Also, after the ramp and inside the final turn, there is a dirt area with pipes that the player can cross by using a Mushroom. The player can also cut the first turn using three Mushrooms.

Glitches
There is an Item Box glitch in this course in Mario Kart 7. It involves using the Glide Ramp which is accessible on laps 2 and 3. The player should glide to the right, where there is a row of Item Boxes on the bridge, and swoop down to collect one without going too close to the road and being counted out of bounds. When the player does this, the game will assume for a fraction of a second that the player is all the way back at the bridge and thus momentarily changes their placement to last (unless another player is even further behind). By quickly returning to the track after the bridge, and not flying towards the Toad balloon on the right (which will also count the player out of bounds), a player in any position can therefore hold very good items.

Mario Kart Tour
Toad Circuit makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart Tour, starting with the New York Tour. The course is played for the tutorial, and when an update is being downloaded. This effectively makes Toad Circuit the flagship course of the game, as players can drive around it in every tour, even when it does not appear in one. In the version that can be played when downloading updates, there are ramps before the tunnel. Other than graphical improvements, the course remains almost the same as its original appearance.

Like other courses, Toad Circuit has a reversed variant, a trick variant, and a reversed/trick variant named Toad Circuit R, Toad Circuit T, and Toad Circuit R/T, respectively. The R and T variants were introduced alongside the base variant in the New York Tour, while the R/T variant was added later on in the 2020 New Year's Tour.

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of 3DS Toad Circuit tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Toad Circuit returns in the Booster Course Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the second course of the Golden Dash Cup. It is largely identical to its appearance in Mario Kart Tour, except there are now Mario Kart TV trucks in the off-road areas, and certain aesthetic details have been updated, with the Toad balloons having their hands fully modeled and the Mario Kart logos on the signs throughout the track being rendered in 3D instead of being flat textures. There are also now tires in some offroad sections that can be hit, much like in.

As with all other courses from Wave 1, this course's icon and lighting were adjusted slightly in the 2.1.0 update.

Mario Kart 7

 * Mario Kart (trackside banners)
 * Nintendo (trackside banners)
 * Overtake (trackside banners)
 * Shooting Star (trackside banners)

Mario Kart Tour / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Mario Kart TV (vans) (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe only)
 * Mario Motors (trackside banners)
 * Mario Work Gear (trackside banners)
 * Propeller Toad Transport (trackside banners)
 * Toad Polar Expedition 2014-2015 (trackside banners)
 * Yoshi's Egg Market (trackside banners)

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Nintendo Switch News app (US):
 * This course first appeared in the Mario Kart 7 game for the Nintendo 3DS™ system.
 * Be on the lookout for the many, many Toads found in this course. It's positively Toad-filled!
 * Victory may rely on how well you can use the Mini Turbo boost you get from drifting. It's a good course to practice your drifting.
 * Nintendo Switch News app (UK): Introducing Toad Circuit! First appearing in Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS, and featuring Toad-packed spectator stands along with some giant Toad balloons, this course offers a toadally awesome experience! It's an entry-level, easy-driving circuit with multiple big bends that are just the ticket for riding those speed-boosting drifts to pole position! Why not test your skills and see if there's mushroom for improvement?

Trivia

 * The cheering audience from this course can be heard when Donkey Kong plays his Nintendo 3DS in the Wii U version of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.