Smorgy's - Geelong
Date: Unknown
Tiki Bar
Smorgy's - Geelong
Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Closed)
Created by Eric Schwaiger, Smorgy's was a chain that was started in the mid 1980s, expanded in the 1990s with more elaborate build-outs, and closed in the early 2000s. The food was all-you-can-eat buffet style and the decor featured some animatronics and many had Disney-esque style volcano entrances or waterfalls surrounded by jungle style shrubbery.
This location was more nautical than the other locations.
One of the most remembered attractions at this location was Salty, a talking animatronic seal whose head moved left and right and could talk and sing. When the show wasn’t playing, it was covered by a boat sail tarp, which revealed the seal when it was time for the show. King Neptune, another animatronic, was like a living statue that also woke up for the show. They had a lot of banter back and forth referencing whether AFL football legend Gary Ablett senior was a god and other things people in Geelong liked. During the show, there were lots of effects including rain that went down the windows, thunder and flashing lightning.