Nostalgia Popcorn Maker Professional Cart, 8 Oz Kettle

I wanted to review this to give my experiences using this machine and to counter the voices suggesting this is hard to clean. Like others when I was first reviewing my options, one of the reoccurring comments that I kept reading, was fear of having to clean it after use. I can assure you it is easy and takes only 10-15 minutes to completely clean and sanitize.This machine arrived on time and was easy to put together. I read reviews on what popcorn, oil, supplies to buy and settled on the following: I use the Great Northern 4oz All-in-one packs (popcorn, flavonoid salt and coconut oil) even though this is an 8oz Popcorn Machine - that is plenty of popcorn for 2-4 people. I also use the Snappy Butter Burst Popcorn butter / oil to drizzle on afterwards - it makes it just like theater popcorn! My pro-tip: I use half of the flavonoid salt in the GN All-in-one pack and it is perfect!Follow the provided directions to make: The left button is a warming light and also warms the bottom. Turn on the right button to heat the kettle and start the turning arm, for only two minutes, then switch it off, while you add your oil and salt. When it has melted, add your popcorn. Then turn back on the right switch. It will take approximately 3 more minutes to pop. Once the popping has slowed down to the last kernels (about a few pops every few seconds) turn off right switch and dump the kettle’s remaining kernels. That’s it! The kettle gets very hot quickly, so extended use or leaving it on will burn the oil and or popcorn.The cleaning is straightforward. I thoroughly clean the machine after 4-6 uses. Following each use, I will clean out the leftover popcorn and kernels and wipe the bottom of the machine with a water wet paper towel. When I clean out the entire thing (I have used several methods - found good idea from a guy on YouTube that steam cleans it). But ultimately, it is easy to just remove the kettle take it to the sink and clean it like any other pot. Then I use a vinegar and water mix 1/3 Vinegar and wash out the inside sides, top and bottom using paper towels. It works well and is quick and easy. I use windex on the outside only.Good luck and don’t forget the Snappy Butter Burst - it makes the popcorn even better! Enjoy.

Fantastic popcorn machine! Looks great, built great, and is literally just like the movie theater popcorn machines, couldn't ask for more

I purchased this Popcorn Machine to go along with my Cotton Candy Machine and I get so many compliments on it! Kids love the candy dispensers as well. It works great and pops the popcorn perfectly.

Love the popcorn maker. The only Complaint I have is this: the screws for the door were not in there. So I had to purchase them. Which isn’t a problem but the hardware stores have a lot of screws to choose from so I was there for a bit! Besides that I love the machine. It’s great! Like going to the movies and having buttered popcorn.

Used for a theme at work, employee appreciation - worked out perfect! Made it fun and entertaining.

I love using the Great Northern 4oz All-in-one packs in my 8oz Popcorn Machine - it's the perfect amount for 2-4 people. Drizzling the Snappy Butter Burst Popcorn butter/oil afterwards makes it taste just like theater popcorn! Here's a tip: I only use half of the flavonoid salt in the GN pack and it turns out perfect every time!

The media could not be loaded. Such a great old timey looking popcorn machine! Great quality! Easy to put together! The directions are sketchy but you can figure it out easily. We used 3-1 ratio. 3 parts popcorn and 1 parts oil. Delicious!

UPDATE: 4 uses and it’s broke! Despite what I wrote below in regards to relocating plug, I DID NOT do that, although I had intentions of doing it, this thing broke before I had a moment.It’s an overpriced piece of garbage!Let me start out by saying, "This machine DOES make popcorn" and I used the Nostalgia brand popcorn and it does have an authentic movie theater flavor for sure.However, the design on this machine is horrible. Good luck trying to get your hands in there to empty the oil into the kettle with the packets they give you. You'll definitely need to empty it into something else and then pour it in, because you ARE NOT squeezing it in directly from the package. Why? Because space is too narrow and the kettle lid does NOT lock into an up/open position, so it keeps falling, you can't see what you're doing and there's less than an inch of clearance to put the packet of popcorn oil, salt and kernals into the kettle.The other thing is the cord location is in the 4 o'clock position instead of being located towards the rear and out of sight, so when you need to tip the kettle to empty the kernels, the plug wants to rub against the glass and prevent smooth operation. THAT is NOT really well thought out and should be corrected ASAP. There's only so many times that will be able to happen before something breaks or shorts out.In regards to the materials and build quality, they are barely good enough to get the job done. There's nothing fancy here and nothing that makes this feel like a quality product, (except the kettle tbh. It's small, but a nice stainless steel). The metal, plastic and door just feel cheap and barely good enough.The screws for the shelf get screwed from the inside out and there's no caps provided to cover the bolt ends. Why they wouldn't have it screw from the outside in is beyond me.So overall, this feels like a $300+ toy, that makes real popcorn. Reminiscent of the Easy Bake Oven my sister had. Sure it made a cake, but you never believed for one second it was a real oven. For $300+ I would've expected better quality.I am an electrical contractor and my first order of business is looking into extending this cord and/or relocating it. I don't care about a warranty on this, so I'm not worried about voiding it, but that cord NEEDS to be longer, relocated and secured MUCH better than whatever codes were required to pass this thing. It doesn't say it's UL listed on the packaging anywhere, so there's that.Oh and the whole, "Light up the room thing", Ummmmm, yeah, not so much! BUT, I wasn't looking for it to light up my room! Just sayin'So in the end, yes, it does make popcorn and yes, the popcorn is good, so if the design flaws aren't a concern for you OR you want to try it out, I'm not sure what's out there for the same price, but I'd have been willing to pay a little more for better quality for sure. I will keep this as it's brand new and does work. I'd be curious to see how it holds up, (but I am relocating that cord. lol). Joking, not joking!