Dropping the pan isn't that hard if you think about it carefully.
I remove all but six bolts first, leaving the four corners and the ones just behind the front two. Then I remove the rear corner bolts, then gently just loosen the other four, holding up on the pan. Slightly bring the pan rear down, just a hair to allow a controlled flow from the back half. Hold the pan up there until the flow slows, and then you can let the pan go. Next run out the two next to the front corners while holding the pan up again, let the pan drop a little again, then hold the pan while loosening the last two corner bolts a few threads, gently letting the back of the pan come down until most of the fluid is out. Push the pan back up and remove the last bolts, and lower the pan easily since it weighs very little with so little fluid in it.
All of that takes just a few minutes if you do it methodically, thinking of how the fluid will come out as the pan seal is cracked open. Just control the amount of opening of the pan and case, as you loosen and remove bolts in the right order. Done right, no fluid is spilled beyond the large drain pan that you should have under it. I use a large plastic pan about two feet long and almost 18" wide, which is about a 20 gallon pan, from Walmart.
I hope you also use a large steel pan below the drain, the shallow type with a lip about 3/8" high, parts stores have those, they are about 2x3 feet in size, and work great for all kinds of jobs like the transmission work.
