I've just run the "Neutral Grounds" casefile for my group because our usual GM couldn't make it for a couple of weeks.  When I say run I'm actually still running it, I've managed to split it over 2 sessions.

The FATE system is so different from what we are used to that I'm not surprised that some players could have trouble conceptualising how it works.  The thing that makes it really stand out for me are the Declarations, they take a lot of the pressure off the GM. The system is so much more collaborative than we were used to.  In the first couple of scenes I had to really encourage the players by asking them what was going on, by the end of the night they were telling me. It's a great feeling.

The point here is that unlike traditional RPG you don't have a GM setting a bunch of problems that the players have to overcome using the resources available to their characters.  In FATE the GM and the players are working together to tell a story that everyone will enjoy.  Once the group grasps that then it doesn't matter that a physical character is outclassed by the wizards in combat, as long as everyone enjoys the story.  The character's aspects should drive the story, not just help them beat up the bad guys.