One of the reasons for those trays is for liquid spills so if you plan to never drop any coffee or sticky sugar drinks then you should be okay. Oh, and you’ll feel a bit more ‘bounce’ on the keys I guess? I think they are pretty robust mechanisms.
I found the re-assembly of this difficult until I concentrated on two areas - the lugs which go into the handle first, then the central ring. My earlier concern was for the optical sensors on the wings but these snapped into place easily as the central ring was manoeuvred.