Should "fuel" surcharges be renamed "profit" surcharges?

It's no surprise in this economy that the few companies with ready cash are acquiring new properties at recession-special prices. Disney, for one, has decided to expand its base by purchasing Marvel Entertainment. The company that has long painted itself as American as apple pie is now the home of Captain America—as well as Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the entire stable of Marvel characters. Disney is no stranger to integrating sci-fi and pop culture characters into its own brand. It has had a close relationship with George Lucas for years. And the re-imagining of Mickey and his crew as Star Wars characters has been a geek's dream. Disney's Star Wars weekends at its theme parks have been extremely popular, and have provided a forum for Lucas to keep his brand in the public eye as well. What makes this story particularly interesting is that on the other side of town from Disney's theme parks in Orlando, is a theme park owned by Universal…which happens to feature characters licensed from Marvel. So what fate will befall Universal's Islands of Adventure? We find it hard to believe that Universal will gladly hand over a licensing check to Disney for visitors to its own theme park. But would Islands of Adventure maintain its appeal if the roller coasters got a fresh coat of paint and had "generic" themes? And was this a calculated move by Disney to put Universal in its cross-hairs, or just a well-time acquisition of a marketable property? What do you think? Are we about to see a theme park war explode in Orlando?

Still want to squeeze in a trip to Hawaii by the end of the year? (We did name it one of the top budget travel destinations for 2009, after all.) The state officially celebrated its 50th anniversary on August 21, but that doesn't mean the party's over. In fact, if you use Facebook or Twitter—or just need some incentive to start—you could increase your chances of winning a free getaway to Hawaii. Marriott Resorts Hawaii, along with the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Hawaiian Airlines, and Hertz, is commemorating the state's birthday by giving away 25 trips for two to Hawaii in the Tweet Yourself to Hawaii contest. To enter, you just need to provide your e-mail address—and if you have a Facebook account and/or a Twitter handle, you can get up to two more entries. The prize includes round-trip airfare for two on Hawaiian Airlines from one of its West Coast gateways, five nights at a Marriott Hawaii resort, a Hertz rental car, a $100 resort dining credit per day, and selected island activities, depending on the resort. Trips must be taken by December 20, 2009. The first drawing took place Friday, with additional drawings happening every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday until October 21. You can enter again (up to three times!) once each week and then follow Marriott Hawaii on Twitter to find out who won. A separate Marriott contest, Tweetup in Hawaii, invites you to really use your social media savvy: To enter, you must create a video explaining in three minutes or less why you love Hawaii, upload it to YouTube, and submit a link to your video on the contest website by December 20. Marriott will post the videos on the site and select a group of finalists. On January 4, 2010, the public will be able to vote for their favorite clip, with the top vote-getter as of January 15 getting a "Tweetup" in Hawaii: Round-trip airfare for the winner and 11 guests, a seven-night stay at any two Marriott resorts in Hawaii, a luau dinner and show, a commemorative Hawaii state quarter for everyone, a keepsake group photo, and 25,000 Marriott Rewards points for the winner. For details, see the Tweetup entry page. Hawaiian Airlines is also celebrating a different anniversary—its own. For its 80th birthday, the carrier is giving away 80,000 miles (the equivalent of two round-trip tickets from the West Coast to Hawaii) each week through September 23. To enter, play the Travel Through Time giveaway game online. It shows you Hawaiian Airlines' uniforms from different eras and makes you guess which year they were introduced (it also gives you hints!). Note: To enter the drawing, you have to join the (free) frequent-flier program at the HawaiianMiles sign-up site. And if you don't want to leave your vacation plans to chance, there are plenty of 50th anniversary and fall promotions still going on: • Four Hilton Family Hawaii hotels are offering your fifth night for just $50, plus a $50 spa, dining, or beach-craft-rental credit through the 50 Years of Aloha promotion (from $129, through December 20). • Prince Resorts Hawaii has a Spring Into Summer/Fall Into Winter & Celebrate Hawaii's 50th special at its four resorts, providing a $50 daily resort credit, no minimum stay required (from $179, through December 22). For the skinny, visit the Prince deal site. • Aston Hotels & Resorts has a Fall for Aston special with up to 40 percent off seasonal rates at its 25 Hawaii properties (from $83, through December 21). Details at the Aston deal page. For other vacation package promotions, see our Hawaii Real Deals. EARLIER Recent Hawaii news on our blog ELSEWHERE Find more Hawaii trip ideas at GoVisitHawaii.com

Kreis 4, Zürich This red-light district has been transformed into the city's style hub. Boutique Saus&Braus; sells the work of Swiss designers like Alma Rumpke, who turns bicycle tubes into belts (sausbraus.ch). Up-and-coming artists exhibit their work at Message Salon Downtown's openings (likeyou.com/messagesalon). By day, Forum is a favorite lunch spot; on Friday and Saturday nights, DJs transform the space with hip-hop, electronica, and blues (forumzh.ch). —Ellise Pierce, from the September 2009 issue of Budget Travel CLICKABLES! Coming this fall: A new Swiss park for feeding the bears Madrid: A neighborhood makeover

Still not riding the social media wave? New social media site Traxo, currently in beta, offers an interesting twist. Organize your trip itineraries and connect with friends on the road. Traxo is first a trip organizer tool. After you sign up for free, the site will start pulling all of your travel information from 40 major U.S. booking sites, including Orbitz, Hertz, Travelocity, British Airways, and more—even major hotel groups like Starwood. Traxo remembers to check these sites for you periodically and update your trip itinerary, or add new trips as you book them. The social media part of Traxo comes after you've planned an itinerary. Say you're going to San Francisco. Traxo will search your "buddies"—people you've approved or invited as friends—for trips to the City by the Bay. When there's a match, Traxo tells you and your buddy that you'll both be there. Let the happy hours and dinner dates ensue! Traxo will also tell you buddies who have been to San Francisco recently (and who lives there permanently), so if you can't meet up with a buddy, at least you can get a great recommendation for lunch. The usability of the site is much like Facebook; there's a buddy approval system and an inbox, for e-mailing buddies for travel advice, etc. Speaking of Facebook, Traxo actively works with the social media megasite—you can import all your Facebook friends automatically into Traxo, and your trip itineraries can be published on your Facebook wall. There have been some recent concerns about privacy on social media sites (like Twittering your vacation plans, definitely a no-no). Traxo co-founder Andy Chen told me about Traxo's custom privacy controls, which you can set on a trip-by-trip and buddy-by-buddy basis. And for those vacations when you don't want anybody to find you? Put the setting at "private."