ORLANDO, Fla. — In February, SeaWorld Orlando opened Ice Breaker, a multi-launch roller coaster with Florida's steepest beyond-vertical drop, and now the park has set its sights on another new attraction.

​Although SeaWorld hasn't officially announced a new attraction, work is already well underway for what will likely be the theme park's next coaster.

In early 2020, the company filed permits with Orange County for a project named Project Penguin, which called for work along the festival area and pathway near Bayside Stadium and the front of the park.  

The documents didn't specify what type of attraction would be built in this area, but speculation had indicated that this SeaWorld project was another coaster. 

Momentum around the project slowed as a result of the pandemic, when the company focused on reopening its parks and debuting delayed 2020 attractions such as Ice Breaker and the record-breaking hybrid coaster Iron Gwazi at sister park Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. 

Earlier this year, several signs pointed to the project being back on track. Permits that had been extended since 2020 were updated. A notice of commencement for "Project Penguin — Demolition" was filed with Orange County in February. And construction fencing was put up at the Orlando park, with demolition work visible in the designated project area. 

The company also has been dropping not-so-subtle hints about the project on its social media account, referring to it as a "landscaping project."

The latest hint came last week, when the SeaWorld Twitter account shared a photo of teal-colored coaster tracks behind a pair palm trees. The post didn't acknowledge the tracks and instead included a caption that read, "some beautiful palm trees right there..."  

SeaWorld's latest "landscaping project" comes as the company continues its strategy of adding new attractions at its parks every year as it shift away from animal performance attractions.  

This company-wide strategy has resulted in the additions of Sesame Street Land and Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando, revamped water slide Reef Plunge at Aquatica Orlando, and Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens. Adventure Island is also set to open Rapids Racer and Wahoo Remix this spring. 

A new SeaWorld coaster would come as a growing number of coasters pop up in Central Florida. Universal Orlando opened Jurassic World VelociCoaster at its Islands of Adventure park last June. Next month, Disney World will debut Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the first Epcot coaster and the first Disney coaster to feature a reverse launch.