elizabeth—December 27, 2013✓ Verified purchase
Our daughter also saw those commercials on the t.v. at her grandmas house. On the way home one day she almost quoted the commercial verbatim highlighting the 3 minutes and the ability to make different flavors. Of course, this was a Christmas item. We searched for the product and she confirmed it when we found it on here. We read the negative comments on and braced ourselves and her, warning that it may not be what she expected. After trying it tonight, I will say this..... PEOPLE MUST NOT BE READING/ FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS CORRECTLY. We used cold Heavy cream AS INDICATED. We used crushed ice AS INDICATED (by putting our ice in the blender.) We used 4 tbls of table salt AS INDICATED. We made vanilla for now and used the amount INDICATED. We set a timer and the whole family shook it for 3 minutes AS INDICATED. My daughter loved this part and exclaimed we were in a commercial! For this alone I will give it 5 stars. But I also give a 5 it because people just like to complain for no reason. It came out the consistency of a soft serve/ frozen yogurt. You can shake it longer for thicker consistency (ALSO INDICATED) No pre-freezing or altering the directions at all. It came out quite tasty! When you see the cup and the size of the compartments the ingredients go in, who in the world thinks it will make a lot?? Who even wants to give a Small child a Large quantity of ice cream anyway? This made a perfect One Scoop serving size and if you add toppings, it will reach above the rim. So ya commercials always make things look bigger/ better/ tastier. Who ever ate a burger that looked exactly as it did on the commercial?? Did we get the only one in the world that worked or are we the only ones who can follow instructions correctly and not get bent out of shape when an inexpensive child's product yields a result different than our expectations?? Read more
buyer—December 16, 2013✓ Verified purchase
My 2 daughters really wanted to buy these (seen on TV of course.) We let them use their own money to learn the "as seen on TV" lesson, doesn't always work the way you see it on TV. Followed the directions closely which resulted in a tasty milk shake. We ended up shaking the maker 2x the amount noted to achieve the milk shake consistency. One star because it doesn't work. However 5 stars because the girls learned a valuable lesson. My oldest recently asked about another item seen on TV but first said let's read the reviews to see if anyone got it to work. Save the money and buy a plug in mini ice cream maker. Better & yummier results. Read more
Deb G—June 20, 2013✓ Verified purchase
My kids are ages 5, 7, and 9, and they love our Ice Cream Magic. Here is my advice: 1. Set your child's expectations correctly: Tell them it makes one small serving of ice cream for one child. Tell them it will be soft, a bit liquid-y, but delicious. 2. Follow the directions and help your child shake the thing. 3. After three minutes, open it up. It will have liquid in the center and firm ice cream on the sides. If your child is too excited to wait any longer, then great you're done! 4. If they want it more frozen, scrape the sides and stir gently, then close it up and shake for another 1-2 minutes. It makes one small portion of yummy, soft ice cream. You can scrape/pour the ice cream into a bowl and start over for another child. This is fun and simple, and my kids love the way it looks, the ice cream spoon, and doing the measuring themselves. Start to finish, we made three batches, including clean-up time, in 15 minutes. Our best batch was made with 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 tsp white sugar, 1 Tbs chocolate syrup, and a drop of vanilla extract. I think the chocolate syrup helped thicken the mixture so it turned out a bit firmer than the vanilla. Read more
Katherine Mosio—March 9, 2014✓ Verified purchase
Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. however, this is not a negative review. I had to You Tube this ice cream maker for some tips on making the ice cream and my kids love it. It probably takes more than 5-7 mins of shaking and you have to stir half way through, and you get a soft ice cream that the kids love. I also love it bc, its a fun activity for them and they get an ice cream fix without all the sugar and preservatives often found in most ice creams. its a novelty, and yes, you have to use a lot of salt, however, this is worth it for the entertainment for the kids. Read more
glaubitza3—July 22, 2013✓ Verified purchase
My daughter got 2 for her birthday and my kids LOVED this but it performs just like most of the other reviews have said. The ice cream does not set well at all, so it is more like a shake then ice cream. We followed the directions exactly and we did so four times (we used both Ice Cream Magic's) in a row and had the same results each time. It is more work then it is worth to me but my kids had fun making and shaking the ice cream. Also make sure you measure exactly as they tell you (do not add more liquid) or it will make a HUGE mess because the cup is so small and leaves no room for excess. Read more
Elizabeth Rangel—August 26, 2021✓ Verified purchase
My kids loved this! It was so easy to use and easy to clean up. I bought one for my daughter when she was 7 she always talked about how much she loved it. I bought her another one when she turned 18 She was so happy to have it again. I also bought one each for my 7 & 9 year old. All of them love it and say it makes the best ice cream they ever tasted. This was a great purchase. Read more
Judyrog—April 22, 2013✓ Verified purchase
Way to much money, way to much time involved and after all is said and done, no one gets in enjoy ICE CREAM. It's all fun and games until you have to shake this FOREVER and the kids are off playing while you stand and shake. Wjen you tell them it's ready, they proceed to eat thick flavored milk. Sorry I invested my time and money Read more
John Garretson—May 1, 2014✓ Verified purchase
After reading many reviews I was skeptical about getting a couple of these for my two children, but my wife insisted.... If you use crushed ice and whipping cream that is cold it works great, but the kids will need to mix for 4 minutes instead of 3 as directions indicate. The item works as intended, just don't expect to make much in each "batch" - its a "lot" of work for such a small amount of ice cream, but this is more of a novelty toy than anything Read more