Cloudtop Cruise

Cloudtop Cruise is the first race track in the Special Cup of Mario Kart 8. This course mainly takes place on a giant beanstalk (much like Sky Garden) and on an airship (like Airship Fortress). Several of Bowser's airships are seen flying in the background. The end of this track's song uses parts of Sky Station Galaxy and Gusty Garden Galaxy's music from the Super Mario Galaxy series.

Course layout
The race starts a giant beanstalk, shortly after there is a ramp with some Item Boxes on it, there is a Bowser Balloon that characters can bounce on, similar to the mushrooms in Mushroom Gorge from Mario Kart Wii. The racers will then continue racing on a cloud. Later, they come onto an airship, where the player encounters two paths, both of which meet up right before a cannon, which launches the player to a anti-gravity metal track inside a storm cloud. On the track, there are many boost panels, but once in a while, lightning will strike them, which the racers have to avoid or else they will get knocked out. This section then ends to start a gliding section, which touches down on a giant stone ? Block. There is just one more right turn before the finish line.

Shortcuts

 * Players can bounce on the second Bowser Balloon without using a Mushroom.
 * Near the end of the lap, players can jump off two big leaves, cutting off the final corner.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese and Korean versions, this course shares its name with Sky Garden from Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
 * Crates with Bowser's face printed on them can be seen in the airship part of the course. These Bowser crates can also be seen in Bowser's Castle.
 * The ? Block platform at the end of the anti-gravity section is a reference to how Beanstalks grow out of ? Blocks in Mario games.
 * In the thundercloud, very rarely, one can preform a trick off a lightning strike.
 * This is one of the three nitro courses in Mario Kart 8 that have boost pads become inactive under certain matters.
 * In this course and Bowser's Castle, if the players are very careful of not hitting the hazardous obstacle in contact of the boost pad, they can drive over the boost pad, but they will not get a boost.