I bought this popper a number of years ago, so I can give some feedback based on repeated use over time. It's possible some design elements have changed since my purchase, but the pictures and product description look pretty identical, so I feel confident in sharing, but it could be the case.

In general, it's a great popper; fun to use, looks wonderful, and a good size for entertaining large groups without being unwieldy. When used with the Great Northern all-in-one popcorn packs, it makes truly delicious movie theater style popcorn!

Pros:
- pops fast, and easy to use
- stainless steel on most surfaces
- comes with a good sized scoop for serving
- large, but still pretty portable (I've used it multiple places for multiple events and just cart it around in the box it came in)

Cons:
***NOTE: Most if not ALL of these cons could be eliminated by some basic design adjustments by the manufacturer.***
- INCREDIBLY difficult to clean! Parts cannot be submerged in water due to the electrical components, so be prepared for a lot of awkward reaching and wiping. There are crevices and screws everywhere that crumbs seek out and refuse to emerge from. When I use mine, I know and accept that I'm in for some lengthy cleanup.
- the actual cooking assembly doesn't offer a way to remove the top part (cover and turning arm) unless you want to start removing screws. If the top came off, which is an independent part to the heating pan underneath so it SHOULD be possible, it would dramatically ease cleanup. It should be constructed to clamp on/off.
- the holes in the floor of the popper where unpopped kernels are meant to fall into the collection tray cover a wider area than the actual tray. Meaning some kernels will fall into the bottom of the machine and be nearly impossible to remove. I've actually unscrewed the floor deck before to vacuum them out.
- the interior "˜ceiling' of the popper is NOT stainless steel. With all the oils, steam and salt, it's difficult to keep this surface looking good, and complicates cleaning. While not a surface food rests on, it's a part of the food compartment where steam is definitely circulating, and should be stainless steel as well.

While those may seem like some daunting cons, I don't regret my purchase, and do enjoy owning this popper. I mostly use it for fun at the occasional event, so I suppose if I was having to clean it more regularly I might feel differently. But it's great at what it does and always gets comments when I break it out. For the price though, it'd be nice if a few smart design improvements could be made. That would be so awesome that I'd be tempted to get another!

Bought this as a present for my husband for Father's Day, as he and our son love to make popcorn for movie nights. Did my research and decided on this one because of the reviews (should have kept reading maybe) and price point.
Son and I were so excited for it be to opened today (Father's Day) in hopes of having some delicious popcorn. Unfortunately popcorn would have to wait. We opened the box to the popcorn maker to find shattered glass from the light bulb everywhere!!! Inside, outside, stuck in parts, between glass and edge - everywhere. This ships with the light bulb in the socket!!!
The box for the actual maker says Fragile (for whatever that is worth) but I selected Amazon packaging so my husband wouldn't know what had arrived. The Amazon packaging has NO fragile stickers on it at all.
After an hour of cleaning out pieces, shards and tiny fragments of glass it was time to make some popcorn - which we immediately threw in the trash. If you don't wipe out the pot thoroughly it will leave a grey "film" or coating on your freshly popped popcorn. Yes, sure, of course we should have paid closer attention when wiping it out before first use - and we would have if we hadn't spent an hour already cleaning out the mess of glass to make sure we didn't end up eating any.
All that being said, the machine works and works as expected. Popcorn is a little dry when using oil but we'll work on a recipe that we like best, as other reviewers have suggested.
Son had a blast watching it pop and enjoyed every bite! So despite the fiasco with the bulb, still a winner and deserving of 4 stars (though I'd have done 3.5 if given the option).

I really enjoy the machine, great popcorn taste and theater-like experience, but it is a pain to clean.

We got 2 of these to replace some older models that were beginning to have problems. In the past couple days, we popped about 1000 2 oz bags of popcorn in 90+ degree heat, and they've held up amazingly well.

However, these are much smaller than the older models. The kettle is the same size, but the machine itself is much more compact. On the plus side, this means they take up less space on the table, but they are harder for larger-sized people to work with. It's much more difficult to load the kettle, clean around it, empty popcorn, etc.

Overall, we're happy with our purchase, but just be warned that these are smaller in size and more difficult to work with.

Only problem, the inside light lasted about a month before burning out, and it would be VERY helpful if this thing came with some kind of of cleaning solotion. The side panels get dirty quick.