Mario Kart Stadium

Mario Kart Stadium is the first race track in the Mushroom Cup of Mario Kart 8. This course takes place in a big stadium full with advertisements and banners of the players with fireworks in the background. This is the first course to be named after the Mario Kart series itself. This course also makes Mario Kart 8 the only game in the series (excluding the arcade games) where the first course in the game is not named a Circuit/Raceway course. Despite this, its music is a cover of Mario Circuit's music.

Course layout
The course begins with a short straightaway followed by a right turn. The track then turns right with three colored paths that stay together: an inner blue path, a yellow path in the center that says "Mushroom Cup" on it, and an outer red path with Boost Pads and coins. The track then approaches the anti-gravity part followed by a left turn. Next, the course goes up and down a raised hairpin turn, followed by a gliding area, and one more left turn to the finish line.

Shortcuts

 * Just before the path splits in three, the player can use a boosting item to make a sharp turn between the pipes
 * After the first split path anti-gravity section, there is a dirt section that the player can boost through.
 * Right after the first anti-gravity strip, on the left, there is a ramp that cuts off the corner just before the huge turn.
 * Near the end of the course, just after the gliding ramp, a boost can be used across the sand to bypass the final turn. It is easy to notice the shortcut because there are pipes in the sand.

Trivia

 * Throughout the course, all flags and pit stops are only themed around Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Bowser. Interestingly, they are the only characters to appear in every Mario Kart game since Super Mario Kart.
 * Two signs at the end of the course have team names on them, the teams being Mario Super Motor Team, Luigi Gusters, Toad Mushroom Powered, Yoshi Runners, Lord Bowser, and Princess Peach. The same team names can be found in different courses throughout the game.
 * This is the only track in the Mushroom Cup to not have an underwater section.