Ice Age Alley

Difficulty:

All Stages

Notes:

Losing the bird is a huge time loss, especially if it happens early. It's recommended to avoid getting the halfway barrel even as a beginner, as playing the level without the bird takes a very long time and is quite difficult.
Begin the stage by holding left and Y (this is one of the few stages that will buffer your roll input), then jump just over the DK barrel shortly after. If you jump too soon you can expect to get nutted on by that Nasty Necky (Yea...)
You can clip through many other Mini-Neckys in the manner shown above. If you hesitate or slow down accidentally, you'll need to avoid them. The bug that causes them to be harmless only lasts for a short time after they spawn.

Noob method

Notes:

Only use this if you are really struggling with Expresso. It is much, much slower.

Easier Setup

Reference Video:

- Level Start at 15:03 - Release B around 15:29 (aprox.)

Notes:

Even more so then in All stages, losing the bird is terrible, you need her to reach the last bonus.
The beginning barrel boost section isn't to bad, the jump under the kremling is tight however, solid movement and you will reach the rope every time.
After the first bonus music fades out you can hold y b and right to jump out of the bonus in the air, allowing you to flutter over a big part of the stage saving quite a bit of time.
After exiting the second bonus, jump when you just started to go up the slope then briefly let go of the d-pad you will clear the barrel very easily, jump once more clearing the hill and the manky at the top.