Mystic River Falls

Just outside the main entrance, there is an extended queue area with switchback sections.[13] Riders ascend stairs and take a walkway over the attraction's final turn, bypassing the station and instead heading towards two main sets of switchbacks located in buildings on either side of the ride's final major drop. These buildings represent the base camp of the fictional Mystic River Expeditions touring company, and include a wide assortment of themed elements, such as maps of the Music River and Marvel Cave, promotional posters, crates, various dinghies, lifebuoys, paddles, and an expedition log.[14] Riders then proceed to the station, where they are loaded onto the boats.

Once dispatched, riders make a left turn into the primary conveyor belt lift, before being launched into the “river” portion of the ride. For two to three minutes, riders make their way through a twisting layout, which is packed with rapids, dripping waterfalls and tight passages. This concludes just after a tunnel, in which signs warn the riders of an upcoming mine shaft, and a second conveyor belt leads to the loading zone for the ride's signature-elevator lift and elevated section. As the elevator rises, the tower structure spins a full 180° and dispatches the raft into a high-speed 270° helix, offering riders panoramic views of the Ozarks. Following this, the raft immediately plunges down the ride's well-known 45 feet (14 m)-tall drop, landing in the splashdown lagoon and soaking all on board. The raft makes one final, slow left turn, and then re-enters the station. Although the official ride time is listed as 5:30 minutes, the ride can take up to 8 minutes to navigate.

In the 1880s, Marvel Cave was acquired by William Henry Lynch, a Canadian miner and dairyman. Lynch and his two daughters, Miriam and Genevieve, would form a touring company, and later hire cave explorer S. Fred Prince for his experience. Prince, a keen explorer and writer, would go on to explore Marvel Cave in depth, in the process documenting and mapping out the entire system with one major exception; the leads of the so-called Mystic River passage remained unclear. Over the years, the mystery of what lay ahead would become unbearable, and a local citizen, Pearl Brazen, would begin to launch expeditions on foot and raft alongside the Lynch sisters in the hopes of finding the way to the Mystic River Passage, which could only possibly be accessed through the Mystic River Falls.

In the present day (dubbed to be in the 1880s), Pearl and her husband Leo run the Mystic River Expeditions touring company and challenge anybody willing to explore and find the hidden passageway.

Mystic River Falls has a total linear length of 2,100-foot (640 m), which is traversed in approximately 5–8 minutes. The ride utilizes 18 different 8-seater rafts, which are propelled along by a maximum water flow of 200,000 gallons per minute. The attraction's most prominent feature is the elevator lift tower into the elevated river channel. The river channel has a lower flow rate and functions like that of an oversized waterslide; measuring 180 feet (55 m) in length, it is said to be elevated up to 66 feet (20 m) off the ground. This is accessed by the elevator lift, and finishes with the ride's signature, 45 feet (14 m) final drop.

The elevator lift on the ride is unique to Mystic River Falls, and the first of its kind to be used in the attractions industry. The tower has four rising platforms on either side, which allows for rafts to be raised to the top, while others are dispatching and loading onto the tower, all while slowly spinning.[15] Other elevator lift towers prior have only been able to utilize up to two at a time (e.g. that of Cobra's Curse at Busch Gardens Tampa).[16]

Mystic River Falls was a joint project between Silver Dollar City, Barr Engineering, and Ride Engineers Switzerland (RES). Barr Engineering has major levels of expertise in the planning and design of water rides, with past projects including Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges at Universal Islands of Adventure, Smoky Mountain River Rampage at Dollywood, and various water attractions at Dorney Park and Valleyfair.[17] Ride Engineers Switzerland, based in Altendorf, Switzerland, is an amusement rides firm founded around 2016 by various former staff members of Swiss firm abc rides, which had been bought out by Intamin in 2016.[18] As abc, the engineering staff had been well known and renowned for their raft ride systems, and brought the experience with them to RES.[19]