We are a family of eight so we usually do two batches so everyone has enough. We all love this and it is so easy to use that any of our kids can use it on their own. Performance We have not had any problems with our popcorn popper. It makes plenty of popcorn in just a few minutes. So simple to use and extremely fun watching the popcorn pop just like at a movie theater. Settings/Features There are not really settings on this popcorn machine, it's just simple to fill and pop. Ease of Cleaning This is the only category that deserves a poor eating. I tend to be a clean freak and I have not had any luck getting this popper clean. The amount of grease build up is a downfall because it's super hard to clean! Ease of Use Simply put in your butter and popcorn kernels and turn it on! The kids love it! Durability We have had our popcorn popper for over two years. We use it regularly and the kids have even loaned it out for different school activities. It's small enough to store it anywhere and also take it places, like school.

Cristyabrown

USA

My resume includes years of working at movie theaters, and this little gem is a pretty cool way to bring the whole popcorn machine home. We have been exploring with popping oil lately, and I would like to share a few with you. Vegetable oil is just terrible. Canola gets the job done, but is not quite there. Orville Redenbacher popping oil and flavoring is closer. The ultimate best is coconut oil. Also you really do need fine popping salt. Preferably butter flavored, but that may be just my family. This will cling to the popped corn beautifully, as larger table salt will tend to flake off. Performance sometimes kernels do not completely empty upon tipping. Settings/Features if you want the light to stay on the kettle is also going, eventually the oil and leftover kernel bits in the kettle will burn. Ease of Cleaning I love that you can remove the entire kettle for cleaning, and the popcorn itself empties into a handy little container. Ease of Use Very simple: use the included scoops for a perfect batch every time. A small scoop of oil, and a large scoop of kernels are the perfect portions. If using popping salt, just sprinkle it right into the scoop with the kernels, less steps. Turn the machine on first to let it heat up for a few minutes before putting them into the kettle, this will give you a fluffier quick pop.

Kytty

USA

Cheaply made - underperforming! Takes forever to heat up! Does make good popcorn! Performance Really displeased with the overall performance as the tin only holds a few kernels. Settings/Features It works. Ease of Cleaning Seriously not easy to clean this "appliance". Greasy mess! Ease of Use Kid can use it but I would not reccomend it! Durability Piece of junk overall and made cheaply - will NOT last.

ScottHickerson

USA

This popcorn maker was bought for my fiancee for Christmas. I paid 80.00 for it. It claims to make 8 cups of popcorn. We only used the best popcorn you can get not the cheepo popcorn but that didn't matter. The kettle was preheated per instructions but as soon as it started popping... unpopped kernels were flying out of it left and right. It yelded maybe 4-5 cups popped overall out of 1/3 cup. Almost 1/3 of the kernels were unpopped. If wasting is a sin then it is quite apparent that purchasing this product would be as well. Spend less money and get a hot air popper if you want something cute to look at get a cat.

RobNHood63

Kingsport, TN

My dad recently purchased this for me when it went on sale at the store. I have to say I love it! if you can find the right oil and popcorn salt it can taste just like the movie style popcorn without all that extra fat in it. It just takes a minute to warm up then you put in the oil aand popcorn and wait for it to do it's magic. it's fun to watch as the popcorn comes flying out of the pan and into the tray. It smells wonderful.   The only drawbacks is it only makes a relativly small amount if your trying to feed a family who loves to devore popcorn so you might have to make more then one batch. It can also be a pain to clean the little pan as it's hard to get inside. The price is an issue to if you don't find it on sale or recieve it as a gift. SO you would have to see how much do you really think your going to use it. It also takes a bit of shelf space. I love mine and I make popcorn a couple times a week and since my microwave is so small can't use the bagged popcorn, this is a great alternative and you can get all kinds of diffrent salts to make them lots of yummy flavors.

trix360

Lakewood, WA

I, along with my entire family and most of my close friends, absolutely LOVE movie theater style popcorn. Something about the taste and the smell and the memories is just elating. Waring Pro WPM25 Professional Popcorn Maker provides all these emotions, and some amazing popcorn. As far as movie theater style popcorn makers go, I think this one is the best for at home or small business use. My family owns one, but so does the snack bar at the camp I work at. It can pop as much or as little amount of popcorn as you like, which is really convenient. Many commercial or so called "professional" popcorn makers will only make a large quantity of popcorn. It can be intimidating to use this popcorn maker, but once you use it once, you're trained! Only problem is the cleaning can be difficult, leading to gunky buildup (and sometimes some smoke problems).

AFlow

Hillsborough, NC

When I first purchased the waring popcorn machine my family and I were very excited to get it home and try it out , the popcorn was great tasted  just like the professional popcorn depending upon which brand of popcorn your purchase, all of the kernels popped . After several uses it became cumbersome to clean the popper, and if not properly cleaned your fresh popcorn will not taste well. It takes a lot of time to make sure it is properly cleaned. One other draw back after only using the machine twice the door brackets broke off and could not be reattached. I went back to place of purchase. I looked more models, their door handles were broken also. You can still use it like it is however you have to place the door on the machine each time it is in use.

carlaz

Pasadena, CA

I have to admit to liking the idea of having a miniature old fashioned popcorn maker for my home movie theater. I don't know, it's just cool. So when I got the Waring Pro Popcorn Maker for my birthday, you can imagine that I was looking forward to using it. Turns out it's been a great addition to our home. If you take a full size popper from a movie theater or a carnival and shrink it and you have Waring Pro's popcorn maker. The popcorn maker's base is square and measures a little over a foot on a side. It's just shy of two feet in height. It consists of the outer shell, which holds the popcorn kettle inside along with a tray to catch the popcorn as it pops. There's a removable door on one side in order to access the kettle and the popcorn tray. You can only make a ½ a cup of popcorn (well ½ a cup of unpopped corn) at a time in the kettle. Much more than that and you don't pop all the kernels. You can store a couple of kettles worth of popped corn in the tray though without having to empty it.  In order to pop the corn, you add oil to the kettle and the then unpopped corn kernels. You can add salt at this point too if you want the popcorn salted. Then just turn on the popper and it takes about 3-5 minutes for the popcorn to start popping, then as it pops, it's stirred in the kettle and then overflows and the popped corn fills tray. Cleaning can be a bit of a pain. To clean the kettle, you can remove it to clean it, but it cannot be submerged since it does have a plug. You have to kind of do your best to get out any remaining oil or popcorn material.  The rest of the machine is easy to clean. **My Take** If you like popcorn and you like the idea of having your own old fashioned popcorn maker for movie night or parties, I think Waring Pro's Popcorn Maker is a great choice. It can be a bit tough to clean, but overall it looks good, is easy to use and makes good popcorn.  

jps246

Metrowest, MA