Nicholas Jeffares is such a huge fan of Cars, he has worn out at least one DVD copy of the 2006 animated movie.

This week, the young North Surreyite, 7, will get to see the Cars characters up close, and in person, at Disneyland.

The massive new "Cars Land" area of the California Adventure park in Anaheim will be a highlight of the trip, given to Nicholas and his family by Make-A-Wish Foundation.

"He's quite excited," said Lisa Jeffares, Nicholas' mom. "He keeps asking when we can pack for the trip, weeks ahead of time."

Last June, Nicholas completed treatments for the leukemia he was diagnosed with at age three, in April 2009.

"We have a picture of him taking his last spoonful of medicine, which we mixed with apple sauce," said his dad, Stacey. "It was four years of one spoonful a day - almost 1,400 spoonfuls. He's had enough of apple sauce."

The Jeffares' trip to Disneyland marks the 1,500th wish granted in B.C. by Make-A-Wish Foundation since 1983.

"We were told at the beginning of June with a phone call, just out of the blue," said Stacey. "The funny thing is that we were thinking of going on a trip to Disneyland at this time of year. And not two weeks later we got a call saying Nicholas had been granted his wish. It was amazing."

Along with his parents, Nicholas will enjoy the seven-day adventure in California with his older brother Zachary, 9, and younger sister Makenna, 4.

For Nicholas, the trip means he'll have to miss classes at Chalmers Elementary in North Delta, and also a hockey practise or two.

"I want to go on all the rides," he said.

tzillich@thenownewspaper.com