Princess Peach's Castle/Castle Courtyard

The Castle Courtyard is accessed from the First Floor of Princess Peach's Castle. It contains the Eternal Star Statue. Once 12 stars have been collected, Big Boo's Haunt can be entered here.

Interestingly, this is the only area of the castle that has enemies in it, with Boos appearing here once the player has collected enough stars.

Alcove
An alcove with a 50-star door may occasionally be added above the door, requiring jumping from a tree to reach. It usually leads to the second floor, sometimes to a new room which has been reported as one way of reaching the other side of the Mirror Room.

Castle Garden
Main Article: Castle Garden

Hollow Horror Halls
Main Article: Hollow Horror Halls

Beneath the Statue
In some copies of the game, it is possible to move the Eternal Star statue in the middle of the courtyard and uncover a secret area beneath.

Moving the statue consistently requires the Metal Cap. The means of obtaining it however vary quite drastically: while it has in a few instances simply been added to the courtyard it often requires relatively major personalization to manifest, such as expansion of the courtyard with a hedge maze wherein the cap is found, or a locked door at the other side.

One player even reported needing to pass an "obstacle course" on the second floor to bring the Metal Cap to the courtyard in time; this obstacle course was notably difficult compared to unpersonalized stages and required several tries to complete.

The contents of the area vary too: it usually manifests as a small room with a Castle's Secret Star and an one-way door into the basement, but has also been reported to contain a secret level of some kind. Notably, it is both rumored to be one of the locations for the fabled Yellow Switch level and a means of unlocking Luigi.