Just make sure you disconnect all the wires prior....... And if your lifting JD, the playfield is a bit heavier due to it being a widebody.

You can PM me and I can give you a ring and walk you through it...

Jopper the cables usually don't have enough slack. I would disconnect. As others said, the connections are keyed. Regardless, take pictures. Easiest way to ensure everything goes back correctly. Putting the wires back is no big deal.

Usually, I can lift the playfield out myself fully populated. Putting it back, is when it becomes a PIA (as Kelly stated).

What are you planning on doing? Complete tear-down?

To make life easier, remove some of the crap from the playfield while still in the machine (ramps, plastics, and etc...). Will make it a bit lighter.

Again, what are u planning and which machine?

If you can leave it up permanent (Aka..doing tons of these); or are short, limited mobility/strength then the ceiling idea is the way to go....

But, most of us for a few machines should not have to go to that trouble. Remove what you can from the top of the playfield, and you should be able to lighten it up enough to be easily manageable. Prior to removing a playfield, I clear about 95% off the top of the playfield, and about 20% below. Once this is done, it's not that heavy.

Or if you must pull the entire fully populated playfield. Take the legs off the machine and put on the floor. It's now lower, so you should be able to lift the playfield and easily clear the machine. It will also be much easier putting the playfield back in (Kelly said this earlier).

This depends on the machine, and how high your table is. My JD had about a 1.5 feet of slack (not too much) If you run into problems, and by yourself you are sunk. Why risk it?

It takes 15 minutes to unplug. Tag the wires, or take pictures. Either way or both. You don't need to have a mess of wires while trying to attend to putting the sideboard stickers/decals on. Plus it's nice time to check for burnt connectors, clean a few things; and learn a bit more about your machine......

Pinside is an amazing community; so I would not be afraid to do it.... There is always someone who can and will walk you through it. I'm an ex-JD owner as well, so I know we can get you back to running condition.

Just my thoughts on it.....

If you really get stuck, I'm not far away and could possibly help you out.....