Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I wanted this pop maker for awhile and my hubby got it for me for Christmas. It works well if you follow the directions. We got it from WS as it was not offered by amazon at the time. I read the rant review and found a lot of the information he/she wrote inaccurate. First, the pop maker doesn't take 30 min. to make a set of pops. You are looking at anywhere between 6-10 minutes per set. Make sure your pop maker is frozen....I know, if it's your first time using it, it's tempting to stick it in the freezer for 5 hours and later that day try to make them. The maker needs to be in the freezer for about a full day before it is ready to use. Using it before it is totally frozen will end up being frustrating. Second, make sure you do not overfill the pops or they are a pain/next to impossible to get out. Even just a little over the fill line will leave you praying that you'll be able to get them out without breaking the sticks. Making the pops with different colors is easy. I don't know why the other reviewer made it sound so hard. You pour in a little of one color, let it sit for maybe 30 seconds and then pour in your next color (repeat if doing more than two layers)...very, very easy....my little girls do it by themselves. The other negative review kept bringing up the pain of having to keep the unit frozen all the time and the space it takes up in the freezer. The thing is small and narrow and is no big deal in terms of the space it takes up (about the size of a small loaf of raisin bread). When my pop maker is fully frozen, I can get three batches of pops (nine) out before having to wash and re-freeze it. With that said, obviously each subsequent batch is going to take longer than the one before it because the unit is not as cold. Second batch usually takes about 15 min. and third batch maybe 20. I have even squeezed out a fourth batch but it took a long time but we just wanted to see how many we could make. I did go back to WS and get the extra storage case to freeze additional pops (works perfectly) and an extra box of sticks. I hated putting out the money but honestly it makes the whole process a lot easier and there is something to be said for having the proper tools. I wish I could use splenda or other non-calorie things to the pops but not a big deal as we really bought this to have fun with our girls. You can't use items that are non-calorie because it causes the pops to freeze to hard and you won't be able to remove them. We use yogurt but my kids loved making layered ones with cool-aid. I think the pop maker is a great idea and my kids love being able to make a snack or dessert after dinner in less than 10 minutes. We have had regular pop makers that take a few hours to freeze and this is just so much better (instant gratification I suppose). I'm really glad we own this and over time making our own pops is less expensive than going out for icecream. UPDATE- 12/2015- four years later this pop maker is still working perfectly! My girls (some now teens- yikes!) still love making their pops. We bought them the Zoku slushy cups (we got ours from Williams Sonoma but they're sold on Amazon too) and they use the slushy cups every single day with Iced Coffee.