Sunshine Airport

Sunshine Airport is the first course of the Star Cup in Mario Kart 8. It takes place at an airport on an island in the middle of the ocean. Airplanes can be seen parked and taking off.

Course layout
The course begins in the terminal. After a right turn, players will exit the terminal by taking a jump onto the Tarmac. After another right turn, there is a small jump over a conveyer belt, after which the track proceeds under a jetliner. Once passing under the jetliner, a ramp leads to a raised track which then turns left. The track then splits into two alternate paths; one where a jump can be taken onto the wing of a plane, proceed through it and come out on the other wing, or one where the jump is not taken so the player drives under the plane. Shortly after, players will take a left turn, and then hit some boost panels leading to a gliding section. The gilding section ends at an anti-gravity section suspended in the air, which loops around to another gliding section. Players will land on a track that goes straight and then turns left and re-enters the terminal. There is one last right turn to the finish line.

Shortcuts

 * One can cut off the left turn before the first gliding section if one uses a speed boosting item in the correct place.
 * The left turn into the terminal can be cut off if one boosts through the grass.
 * One can drive through an area with conveyors carrying luggage cutting off the final turn.

Trivia

 * The sign boards in the terminal have revealed the names of some tracks before they were officially announced.
 * The track is themed to Super Mario Sunshine, having shine sprites visible throughout the course, as well as a reference in the name Sunshine Airport. The European release date for Super Mario Sunshine is also used as a serial number on some storage crates in Sunshine Airport (55402MS= Oct 4th, 2002).