Sry in advance if you can't understand my walkthrough... if you have any questions, just ask! There may be a thread with door panel removal instructions on the forum here but I couldn't find any after searching for a few seconds. But yes, there are two lights to pull out of handles as you said. Sounds like you can handle those, but you have to remove both screws holding the pull handle in, which I believe are normal Torx screws (I personally use a skinny flat head screwdriver instead of Torx).
You also need to remove the single screw holding the chrome door handle trim plastic in place. The screw is behind a screw cover which is a total SOB to get out without breaking if you haven't done it before.
Next, there is one screw on the top LEFT hand corner of the plastic panel (assuming you're taking the passenger-side panel off). There is another screw you need to remove from the RIGHT hand side of the panel too. It is sticking into the panel parallel to the length of the car. Those are all the screws (5 of them).
To pull the panel off, just pull up on it. It has plastic latches that hold it in along the bottom that you'll probably be able to see once you start pulling. When I pull the panels off, I slide a pool chemical barrel underneath so I can prop them up and unplug everything. There are plenty of wires back there... have fun with that! I'm not sure how to take the hard plastic piece off - tbh, I would love to know how so I can paint mine.
I've said "panel" so much in this post that I feel like Anthony Jeselnik (if anybody's seen his show)... Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled panels
