Cloudtop Cruise

Cloudtop Cruise, known as Sky Garden in Japan, is the first race track in the Special Cup of Mario Kart 8. This course mainly takes place on a giant beanstalk (similar to GBA 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.
 * The ? Block platform at the end of the anti-gravity section is a reference to how Beanstalks grow out of ? Blocks in Mario games.
 * This is one of the only three courses in Special Cup that have boost pads turn off under certain matter.
 * If the players are careful enough, he or she can drive on the boost pad that is being hit by the lightning, but cannot get a boost.
 * There are pods of beans growing on the beanstalk near the end/beginning of the course
 * If one looks very carefully, a Mario sprite is hidden in one of the clouds