In reply to:

Every opener I've ever seen has a disconnect cord or lever to separate the door from the motor so you can pull it up manually...



Of course, on the inside of the door. The regular(small) door to the garage has a deadbolt that we dont have the key for, the previous owners had lost them. Until now we didn't even think of this as a problem as we always just use the main garage door. I've since replaced the lock.