Many of the following steps involve parts with a lot of damping grease. You may choose to wear rubber gloves to keep the grease off of your hands.

Remove the front end of the tray release arm from the front tray release mechanism by pulling it towards the center of the Cricut, then lifting it up.

During reassembly:

If a lot of damping grease was lost during disassembly, use a spudger or popsicle stick to apply new high viscosity damping grease to the tray release mechanism.

Use paper towels and isopropyl alcohol to clean up any excess grease. If you're cleaning grease from electronic components, make sure you use high concentration (greater than 90%) alcohol.