I purchased this for my 9 year old granddaughter for Christmas. It was used immediately at the celebration. A fun activity. It takes a lot of ice and I did not have enough ready in the freezer so we went with a lesser amount. The ice cream never got really hard but more like the consistency of soft ice cream (had I had more ice it may have gotten harder). The taste was great and we all had a little bit. The people rolling the ball went into another room as it is very loud and prevented other conversation. It is a novelty with quite a bit of preparing, cleaning up and time to make the ice cream. Having wanted this item for 4 years my granddaughter was thrilled to receive this ice cream ball. How often it will get used is another question but if ever a unique fun activity is needed with the benefit of a tasty treat it is the one to use.
