its not a major pain, but it is one of those tasks that not many look forward to.... basically, in a nushell, you have to undo the motor mounts and jack the motor up. much easier if you have a lift... you have to a) jack it high enough to pull the pan out and b) not so high you break something on top. The crank journals are basically down in the pan, so not only do you have to jack it high enough for the humps to clear the crossmember, but also high enough to clear the journals. I managed to get mine off without taking the pick up off, but most people get a big enough gap to get there hand in there and unbolt the pick up... oh and drain the oil first...
i find it harder to put back in because you're more worried about getting crap in it and if you use gasket maker, you don't want to smear it all over the place, effectively ruining your gasket...
it isn't so much hard as it is time consuming, its one of those jobs you've jsut got to hold your mouth right. ya know