Just wait until the GRAND opening.

Target stores in Kapolei and Salt Lake held soft openings this morning — to huge throngs of waiting shoppers.

At Kapolei, more than 1,800 people made their way through the doors in the first half hour.

Within 15 minutes, an entire rack of Alexander McQueen dresses had disappeared.

"I have run a lot of Targets (on the Mainland), but I have never seen this level of energy," Kapolei store manager Jon Radtke said.

"This was supposed to be a soft opening, but it's more like a grand opening."

Within an hour of opening, all 600 parking stalls were filled and all 500 shopping carts were in use.

Rachel James, 25, of Wahiawa was there with her 2-year-old daughter Safiyyah.

She said she was doing her part to help the economy.

"I'm buying things I don't need," she said.

James, whose husband Nykita is an Army staff sergeant deployed to Iraq, said she was ecstatic that Target is here.

She said she was so happy she planned to stop by the Salt Lake store, too.

At the Salt Lake store, it was a softer soft opening, with about 450 people entering the store at 8 a.m., though an hour later traffic was starting to back up onto Salt Lake Boulevard from the main store entry on Lawehana Street.

Sara Knudson, an Ewa Beach resident who had regularly shopped at Target until she moved to Hawaii seven years ago, said the atmosphere was classic Target — helpful and energetic.

"The hospitality of the entire team here, you just feel it when you come in the door," she said.

Staff writer Andrew Gomes contributed to this report.