FEW things mean more to most American kids than a vacation at Disney World.
But not the five Mackay boys of Downington, Pa., who have decided the needs of the families of New York firefighters lost in the Sept. 11 disaster is far more important than a trip to Florida.
The boys have been saving pocket change in a large plastic jug for eight years for the vacation.
The Mackay family rule has been that when the jar is full, the coins will be cashed in and the family will go to the Magic Kingdom.
Then terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, leaving more than 6,500 people dead or missing, including hundreds of New York’s Bravest.
“When it first happened, I couldn’t talk. I used to live there, and I couldn’t believe it,” said Andy Mackay, 14, who remembers when his family lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
His brother Johnny, 9, says he kept seeing visions of the disaster and couldn’t sleep.
“I wanted to do something to help them. I put a dollar in the basket at school, but that didn’t seem like enough,” Johnny said.
As they boys were deciding how to respond, their father showed them a copy of the column I wrote about a firehouse in Brooklyn Heights. The Middagh Street firehouse, home to Engine Co. 205 and Ladder Co. 118, lost eight men in the disaster, including all six members of its ladder company.
The Mackays know what the families of the missing are going through. Twelve years ago, one of their relatives who was a New York firefighter died while battling a blaze. And, having moved from the New York area only three years ago, the Mackays have strong emotional ties to the city.
“I knew that jar was just sitting there, full of money,” says Andrew. “After what happened, [a vacation] didn’t seem appropriate.”
The kids talked about it, and finally asked their father to take them to Middagh Street, because they wanted to give all their vacation savings to a fund set up for widows and children of the fallen Bravest from that firehouse.
So, Mike and Laura Mackay loaded the jug of money and their five boys – Andy, Johnny and his twin Matthew, James, 6, and 3-year-old Kevin – into the car, and made the 21/2-hour drive from Downington to the firehouse.
“When we first got there, we were hesitant. We didn’t know what to do,” said Mike. “We got this guy John, who helped me carry [the jug] in. Right away he made us feel so comfortable, so at ease.”
John Sorrentino was the firefighter who welcomed the Mackays, and received the boys’ generous gift.
“Of the million things that have gone on here in the last couple of weeks, there are a few things that will always stick out in my mind,” Sorrentino said. “That’s one of them.”
The firefighters haven’t had time to cash in the Mackay’s change yet, so they don’t know how much is there. But those who have seen the jar guess it may contain more than $1,000.
“Coming from kids, this is really special,” said Sorrentino. “You know how hard these kids had to work to save that money.”
e-mail: dreher@nypost.com