how to stop dvd Player app from launching automatically

I want to put a DVD into my external USB drive and copy it. But the DVD Player keeps launching over and over and getting in my way. When the DVD Player is running, the disk does not show up as a mounted volume. There is no CD/DVD preference pane any more in High Sierra. Is this now impossible? Is my only choice to try to play the ****** thing? I even tried putting the DVD Player in the trash but that's not allowed even after authenticating.

<rant>I am so frustrated by the Apple Nanny State sometimes. Please Apple let me do it my way.</rant>

Thanks for any help!