Nostalgia Popcorn Maker Machine - Professional Cart With 8 Oz Kettle Makes Up to 32 Cups - Vintage Popcorn Machine Movie Theater Style - Black

I was hesitant to buy this product however my kiddo really wanted this for his birthday so I spent the money and I have no regrets! This is rolling, easy to store and tastes just like the movie theater popcorn. It is a chore to clean but that was expected. Super impressed!

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.

We love this popcorn popper so much we’ve even given him a name — Luigi! I don’t know if it’s something to do with our childhoods or unhealthy nostalgia, but firing this baby up is guaranteed to turn around the bleakest of days or enhance any movie. The best part is that it’s just the right size, is easy to assemble (took only one person), looks genuinely cute, and functions perfectly after heavy use. Of course you’re going to need some supplies. I’d recommend getting natural butter-flavored coconut oil, Flavacol seasoning, and some butter spray if that’s your thing. You can use cheap popcorn — Luigi will cook it up just fine provided you use enough oil. And it takes a lot. But then, you also will have tons of popcorn to enjoy all night or week… we were surprised at just how good it can taste even a day or even two later. Did I mention how much nicer it is to have a machine doing the work rather than hand-cranking? The motor runs solid and consistent, the pot is robust, and there’s really nothing to the popping experience that feels chintzy or unprofessional. Having at this at home, along with our projector, has given us a full theater experience (Red Vines help too). Cleaning up isn’t bad either — if that’s a concern. All you have to do is empty the “old maids” drawer (antiquated term, don’t blame me), wipe things down with paper towels and then clean out the pot and lid / stirring mechanism. There’s really not a need to soak and scrub much, with the exception of the glass windows which will eventually get pretty messy. We bought a food-safe cleaning spray for this purpose. So if you’re on the fence about “stepping up” to a big boy popper — I’d say go for this model!

I had this in my list for months, debating on getting this one or some other brand. I finally decided on this one. We have used it 3 times and it's been great each time. It is much smaller than I expected, you can barely get two hands into the machine, one to hold the lid open and one to pour stuff into the kettle. I wish that the lid could lay back a little further so it could stay open while you pour your oil and popcorn in. However, I realized that the smaller size is great for our family. We have a bit left over each time and I just throw it into a container and leave it on the counter and it slowly disappears over the course of a few days. Then we make more. It doesn't take up nearly as much room as I thought it would. I had read a few reviews that said the candy dispenser side does not go on the same side as the door of the popcorn maker. It does if you put the base in the correct way. The side that has the slits is the side the dispenser will slide into, make sure it's on the side you want the door when you put it together. I had to take it apart to the base when I realized I had not put it on the side I wanted it. It was not hard at all. I was able to put it together by myself fairly quickly. I also didn't realize I had put the handle on the same side as the wheels. Don't do that. I realized my mistake when I tried to roll it. Again, very easy fix. We have been using the all-in-one packs for 8 oz kettles. The first time I let the oil heat up for about 3-4 min before dumping in the flavocal and popcorn. The popcorn started popping immediately but it wasn't the yellow color that I expected since this is supposed to be like movie popcorn. It still turned out alright, but the last kernals were a bit burnt. The 2nd time I let the oil warm up for less time before dumping in the popcorn and flavocal. This time I had some yellow popcorn. This last time I dumped the popcorn and flavocal in just after the oil melted. I had a lot more yellow popcorn but it was just a bit chewier. Everyone loved each batch though. It will just take practice to get the timing right. I took a star off because of the candy dispenser. It is cute to look at but it is very very small. You are not going to be able to put any big candy in there, for example: peanut M&Ms. I have regular M&Ms in one, Reeses Pieces in another. They dispense about 4 pieces at a time. None of the kids are interested in standing there and continuously turning the knob forever to get candy out. The biggest candy we have tried are the peanut butter M&Ms. I figured they were smaller than the peanut ones so they might fit. They fit, but you only get one at a time. I will probably end up dumping them out and either filling them with something decorative or making a shelf and door for it. Otherwise, the dispenser is pretty useless. Overall we are pretty happy with the popcorn machine and hope it lasts quite a while.

We received the machine yesterday and put it together last night, then ran it through its first test. Overall assembly was not difficult, but the instruction manual could use some updating. When doing an inventory check, it was a little hard to tell which screws were which. Not a huge deal but still, it could have been easier. The diagram also made it look like the base shelf mounted to the top of the leg assembly when it needed to be mounted about halfway down. Again, easy enough when looking for the screw holes but required double-checking. The instructions also did not include attaching the handle/knob to the kernel tray. Again, no big deal. All in all, it took maybe 45 minutes to put together and was easy enough that if I had to do a second one now, it would take 15 minutes or less. For the first batch, we used a pre-measured pack that we have. It includes an already-measured portion of kernels (6 oz), coconut oil, and salt. We let the machine heat up for 5 minutes, then poured the three ingredients in, and within minutes we had fantastic popcorn. Almost every kernel was popped, and the popcorn tasted amazing! Highly recommended machine!

This is such a great product! Very happy with it! The instructions aren't extremely clear but I figured out how to put it together in about an hour and I have zero handyman skills. Gorgeous end result !!

This item is so darn cute, but here is my feedback. I received this on 9/23, and putting it together was not easy as the instructions were TERRIBLE. Once I figured it out by watching a YouTube video, I noticed a few things. The candy dispenser is super cheap feeling (mine actually came with a crack on the left corner). Most of the item is metal, with the exception of a few very cheap plastic items. Besides that, it is pretty sturdy. Height and size are on the smaller end, especially for the pricing (AKA overpriced). I am 5 ′ 9", 175 lbs, and below you can see a picture of me next to it. The packaging was great and had no issues. One of the most annoying issues with this item definitely has to be the cord inside that connects to the pot. It is in such a weird location, and every time you flip the pot over, it causes issues by getting in the way, and the overall placement is TERRIBLE. Would I recommend it? Honestly, really think about it price-wise. Find the lowest price and measure ahead of time. Will be back down the road with updates.

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!