GCN Mario Circuit

Mario Circuit is the second race course of the Flower Cup in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. For this installment, the circuit surrounds Princess Peach's Castle, while in the background some Warp Pipes, tall toadstools, smiling trees, and a Mushroom-shaped hot-air balloon midair can be seen, overviewing the track. A giant Chain Chomp guards a piece of rough terrain, ramming into any vehicle that passes near it. Also, some Piranha Plants appear, attacking the karts and bikes that pass too close to them, causing the racers to roll over and drop their items onto the road. However, they are vulnerable to being hit by some items, such as Green Shells, which leave them stunned for a while. Another obstacle is the Goombas crossing the track before the finish line. Making contact with one causes the kart to spin around. By using certain items against these enemies, a Mushroom pops out of them. The track also appeared at the end of the credits where everyone gets to celebrate. In Mario Kart DS it appears as a unused course in the game's data, with no enemies, trees, or item boxes, and the player can drive on grass as if it was road.

Course layout
The course contains many curves and corners. Employing drifting is the main hint given to clear this circuit. After the first turn and another tight turn, the racers will encounter the Chain Chomp wandering the zone, biting the trespassers. Players then enter a curved tunnel, crossing a bridge upon leaving it and discovering a soil road. After getting into another corner, racers face Goombas crossing an uneven road, giving the racer certain difficulty to maneuver well. After crossing another bridge (where two Piranha Plants await racers to attack indiscriminately), the racers reach the finish line and the lap is completed.

Appearance in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii
This Mario Circuit version was going to appear in Mario Kart DS. A version of this track with all enemies removed and the bumpy road section flat exists in the Demo Version (where it can be played textured by default) and the Final Version (where one must copy the textures from the model file to a texture file to play textures or use a action replay which don't load texture) of that game's data. However, the track was taken out before the game's release (most likely to avoid using all of the character-themed circuits from the same game). The race course officially reappears in Mario Kart Wii as the fourth track of the Leaf Cup, the exact same as it was slated to be in Mario Kart DS.

Tournaments
In Mario Kart Wii, a tournament took place on this track. It was a time trial race, with an increased number of Piranha Plants and Chain Chomps. It was the first tournament of October 2009, and it was repeated as the second tournament of July 2011, the first tournament of October 2012, and the second tournament of December 2013.

Official descriptions
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
 * Instruction booklet: “This is the main circuit in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Familiar denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom can be spotted here and there. The road’s filled with curves, so this is a good place to practice drifting.”
 * Official website: “Mario Circuit features lots of tight corners, a Chain Chomp, Piranha Plants, Peach’s Castle, and several Goombas, not to mention seven other racers trying to upend your kart.”
 * Official European website: “Dodge the waddling Goombas and snapping Piranha Plants, and say hi to Peach as you cruise by her castle.”

Mario Kart Wii
 * Official European website: "With pipes rising out of the surrounding hills and Goombas and giant Chain Chomps littering the track, this is classic Mario Kart action in all its glory."

Trivia

 * The Mario Kart from the game Nintendogs plays the Mario Circuit theme from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! when used.
 * This is the first Mario Circuit in the series to feature Princess Peach's Castle; every Mario Circuit since has also included the castle.
 * This track shares the same music with Luigi Circuit and Yoshi Circuit.