diff --git a/core/includes/common.inc b/core/includes/common.inc
index 00decfa..0ab6226 100644
--- a/core/includes/common.inc
+++ b/core/includes/common.inc
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@
 use Drupal\Core\Cache\Cache;
 use Drupal\Core\Language\Language;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\Container;
-use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;
+use Drupal\Component\Yaml\Yaml;
 use Drupal\Component\PhpStorage\PhpStorageFactory;
 use Drupal\Component\Utility\MapArray;
 use Drupal\Component\Utility\NestedArray;
@@ -5508,8 +5508,8 @@ function drupal_parse_info_file($filename) {
       $info[$filename] = array();
     }
     else {
-      $parser = new Parser();
-      $info[$filename] = $parser->parse(file_get_contents($filename));
+      $yaml = new Yaml();
+      $info[$filename] = $yaml->parse(file_get_contents($filename));
       if (isset($info[$filename]['version']) && $info[$filename]['version'] === 'VERSION') {
         $info[$filename]['version'] = VERSION;
       }
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Pecl.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Pecl.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..635b277
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Pecl.php
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains \Drupal\Component\Yaml\Pecl.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\Component\Yaml;
+
+/**
+ * Yaml implementation using the PECL extension.
+ */
+class Pecl implements YamlInterface {
+
+  /**
+   * Sets defaults according to Drupal coding standards.
+   */
+  public function __construct() {
+    ini_set('yaml.output_indent', 2);
+    // Don't break Yaml files at 80 characters.
+    ini_set('yaml.output_width', -1);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function parse($input) {
+    // Prevent PHP warning if $input is empty.
+    if (empty($input)) {
+      return NULL;
+    }
+    return yaml_parse($input);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function dump($value) {
+    return yaml_emit($value);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Symfony.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Symfony.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..342752e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Symfony.php
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains \Drupal\Component\Yaml\Symfony.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\Component\Yaml;
+
+use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Dumper;
+use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser;
+
+/**
+ * Yaml implementation using the Symfony classes.
+ */
+class Symfony implements YamlInterface {
+
+  /*
+   * Number of spaces to indent sections.
+   *
+   * @var int
+   */
+  protected $indentation = 2;
+
+  /**
+   * A shared YAML dumper instance.
+   *
+   * @var \Symfony\Component\Yaml\Dumper
+   */
+  protected $dumper;
+
+  /**
+   * A shared YAML parser instance.
+   *
+   * @var \Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser
+   */
+  protected $parser;
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function parse($input) {
+    return $this->getParser()->parse($input);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function dump($value) {
+    // The level where you switch to inline YAML is set to PHP_INT_MAX to ensure
+    // this does not occur.
+    return $this->getDumper()->dump($value, PHP_INT_MAX);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Gets the YAML dumper instance.
+   *
+   * @return \Symfony\Component\Yaml\Dumper
+   */
+  protected function getDumper() {
+    if (!isset($this->dumper)) {
+      $this->dumper = new Dumper();
+      // Set Yaml\Dumper's default indentation for nested nodes/collections to
+      // 2 spaces for consistency with Drupal coding standards.
+      $this->dumper->setIndentation($this->indentation);
+    }
+    return $this->dumper;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Gets the YAML parser instance.
+   *
+   * @return \Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser
+   */
+  protected function getParser() {
+    if (!isset($this->parser)) {
+      $this->parser = new Parser();
+    }
+    return $this->parser;
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Yaml.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Yaml.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a16f01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/Yaml.php
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains of \Drupal\Component\Yaml\Yaml.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\Component\Yaml;
+
+/**
+ * Factory class for Yaml.
+ *
+ * Determines which Yaml implementation to use, and uses that to parse
+ * and encode Yaml.
+ */
+class Yaml implements YamlInterface {
+
+  /**
+   * Holds the Yaml implementation.
+   *
+   * @var Drupal\Component\Yaml\YamlInterface
+   */
+  protected $plugin;
+
+  /**
+   * Instantiates the correct Yaml object.
+   */
+  public function __construct() {
+    $class = $this->determinePlugin();
+    $this->plugin = new $class();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function parse($input) {
+    return $this->plugin->parse($input);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function dump($value) {
+    return $this->plugin->dump($value);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Determines the optimal implementation to use for encoding and parsing Yaml.
+   *
+   * The selection is made based on the enabled PHP extensions with the
+   * most performant available option chosen.
+   *
+   * @return string
+   *  The class name for the optimal Yaml implementation.
+   */
+  protected function determinePlugin() {
+    static $plugin;
+    if (!empty($plugin)) {
+      return $plugin;
+    }
+
+    // Fallback to the Symfony implementation.
+    $plugin = 'Drupal\Component\Yaml\Symfony';
+
+    // Is the PECL Yaml extension installed
+    if (function_exists('yaml_emit')) {
+      $plugin = 'Drupal\Component\Yaml\Pecl';
+    }
+    return $plugin;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/YamlInterface.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/YamlInterface.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b0e575
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Component/Yaml/YamlInterface.php
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains \Drupal\Component\Yaml\YamlInterface.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\Component\Yaml;
+
+/**
+ * Interface that defines a Yaml backend.
+ */
+interface YamlInterface {
+
+  /**
+   * Parses a Yaml string to PHP value.
+   *
+   * If $input is empty this should return NULL and not produce a PHP warning.
+   *
+   * @param string $input
+   *   Yaml string to parse.
+   *
+   * @return mixed
+   *   A PHP value.
+   */
+  public function parse($input);
+
+  /**
+   * Dumps a PHP value to Yaml string.
+   *
+   * @param mixed $input
+   *   The PHP value.
+   *
+   * @return string
+   *   Yaml string.
+   */
+  public function dump($input);
+
+}
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Config/FileStorage.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Config/FileStorage.php
index 6422e9d..c9ea18d 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Config/FileStorage.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Config/FileStorage.php
@@ -7,8 +7,7 @@
 
 namespace Drupal\Core\Config;
 
-use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Dumper;
-use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser;
+use Drupal\Component\Yaml\Yaml;
 
 /**
  * Defines the file storage controller.
@@ -23,18 +22,11 @@ class FileStorage implements StorageInterface {
   protected $directory = '';
 
   /**
-   * A shared YAML dumper instance.
+   * A YAML instance.
    *
-   * @var Symfony\Component\Yaml\Dumper
+   * @var \Drupal\Component\Yaml\YamlInterface
    */
-  protected $dumper;
-
-  /**
-   * A shared YAML parser instance.
-   *
-   * @var Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser
-   */
-  protected $parser;
+  protected $yaml;
 
   /**
    * Constructs a new FileStorage controller.
@@ -129,30 +121,15 @@ public function rename($name, $new_name) {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Gets the YAML dumper instance.
-   *
-   * @return Symfony\Component\Yaml\Dumper
-   */
-  protected function getDumper() {
-    if (!isset($this->dumper)) {
-      $this->dumper = new Dumper();
-      // Set Yaml\Dumper's default indentation for nested nodes/collections to
-      // 2 spaces for consistency with Drupal coding standards.
-      $this->dumper->setIndentation(2);
-    }
-    return $this->dumper;
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Gets the YAML parser instance.
+   * Gets the YAML instance.
    *
-   * @return Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser
+   * @return \Drupal\Component\Yaml\YamlInterface
    */
-  protected function getParser() {
-    if (!isset($this->parser)) {
-      $this->parser = new Parser();
+  protected function getYaml() {
+    if (!isset($this->yaml)) {
+      $this->yaml = new Yaml();
     }
-    return $this->parser;
+    return $this->yaml;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -161,9 +138,7 @@ protected function getParser() {
    * @throws Symfony\Component\Yaml\Exception\DumpException
    */
   public function encode($data) {
-    // The level where you switch to inline YAML is set to PHP_INT_MAX to ensure
-    // this does not occur.
-    return $this->getDumper()->dump($data, PHP_INT_MAX);
+    return $this->getYaml()->dump($data);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -172,7 +147,7 @@ public function encode($data) {
    * @throws Symfony\Component\Yaml\Exception\ParseException
    */
   public function decode($raw) {
-    $data = $this->getParser()->parse($raw);
+    $data = $this->getYaml()->parse($raw);
     // A simple string is valid YAML for any reason.
     if (!is_array($data)) {
       return FALSE;
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/DependencyInjection/YamlFileLoader.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/DependencyInjection/YamlFileLoader.php
index bd69f0f..c9c3c6e 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/DependencyInjection/YamlFileLoader.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/DependencyInjection/YamlFileLoader.php
@@ -7,12 +7,12 @@
 
 namespace Drupal\Core\DependencyInjection;
 
+use Drupal\Component\Yaml\Yaml;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\Alias;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\ContainerInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\Definition;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\DefinitionDecorator;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\Reference;
-use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser;
 
 /**
  * YamlFileLoader loads YAML files service definitions.
@@ -24,12 +24,20 @@
 class YamlFileLoader {
 
   /**
+   * A YAML file parser.
+   *
+   * @var \Drupal\Component\Yaml\YamlInterface
+   */
+  protected $yaml;
+
+  /**
    * @param \Drupal\Core\DependencyInjection\ContainerBuilder $container
    */
   protected $container;
 
   public function __construct(ContainerBuilder $container) {
     $this->container = $container;
+    $this->yaml = new Yaml();
   }
 
   /**
@@ -178,8 +186,7 @@ protected function parseDefinition($id, $service, $filename) {
    *   The file content.
    */
   protected function loadFile($filename) {
-    $parser = new Parser();
-    return $this->validate($parser->parse(file_get_contents($filename)), $filename);
+    return $this->validate($this->yaml->parse(file_get_contents($filename)), $filename);
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Extension/ModuleHandler.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Extension/ModuleHandler.php
index d559690..25c0ee0 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Extension/ModuleHandler.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Extension/ModuleHandler.php
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 namespace Drupal\Core\Extension;
 
 use Drupal\Component\Graph\Graph;
-use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser;
+use Drupal\Component\Yaml\Yaml;
 use Drupal\Component\Utility\NestedArray;
 use Drupal\Core\Cache\CacheBackendInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\KeyValueStore\KeyValueStoreInterface;
@@ -834,6 +834,7 @@ public function uninstall($module_list = array(), $uninstall_dependents = TRUE)
 
     $schema_store = \Drupal::keyValue('system.schema');
     $disabled_config = config('system.module.disabled');
+    $yaml = new Yaml();
     foreach ($module_list as $module) {
       // Uninstall the module.
       module_load_install($module);
@@ -846,8 +847,7 @@ public function uninstall($module_list = array(), $uninstall_dependents = TRUE)
       // Remove any cache bins defined by the module.
       $service_yaml_file = drupal_get_path('module', $module) . "/$module.services.yml";
       if (file_exists($service_yaml_file)) {
-        $parser = new Parser;
-        $definitions = $parser->parse(file_get_contents($service_yaml_file));
+        $definitions = $yaml->parse(file_get_contents($service_yaml_file));
         if (isset($definitions['services'])) {
           foreach ($definitions['services'] as $id => $definition) {
             if (isset($definition['tags'])) {
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteBuilder.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteBuilder.php
index 232e47e..f69f742 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteBuilder.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Routing/RouteBuilder.php
@@ -9,12 +9,12 @@
 
 use Symfony\Component\Routing\Matcher\Dumper\MatcherDumperInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\EventDispatcher\EventDispatcherInterface;
-use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Parser;
 use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
 use Symfony\Component\Routing\Route;
 
 use Drupal\Core\Extension\ModuleHandlerInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Lock\LockBackendInterface;
+use Drupal\Component\Yaml\Yaml;
 
 /**
  * Managing class for rebuilding the router table.
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ public function rebuild() {
       return;
     }
 
-    $parser = new Parser();
+    $yaml = new Yaml();
 
     // We need to manually call each module so that we can know which module
     // a given item came from.
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ public function rebuild() {
       $collection = new RouteCollection();
       $routing_file = DRUPAL_ROOT . '/' . dirname($filename) . '/' . $module . '.routing.yml';
       if (file_exists($routing_file)) {
-        $routes = $parser->parse(file_get_contents($routing_file));
+        $routes = $yaml->parse(file_get_contents($routing_file));
         if (!empty($routes)) {
           foreach ($routes as $name => $route_info) {
             $defaults = isset($route_info['defaults']) ? $route_info['defaults'] : array();
diff --git a/core/modules/config/lib/Drupal/config/Tests/Storage/FileStorageTest.php b/core/modules/config/lib/Drupal/config/Tests/Storage/FileStorageTest.php
index d4d492a..e6a6f16 100644
--- a/core/modules/config/lib/Drupal/config/Tests/Storage/FileStorageTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/config/lib/Drupal/config/Tests/Storage/FileStorageTest.php
@@ -8,12 +8,20 @@
 namespace Drupal\config\Tests\Storage;
 
 use Drupal\Core\Config\FileStorage;
-use Symfony\Component\Yaml\Yaml;
+use Drupal\Component\Yaml\Yaml;
 
 /**
  * Tests FileStorage controller operations.
  */
 class FileStorageTest extends ConfigStorageTestBase {
+
+  /**
+   * A YAML instance.
+   *
+   * @var \Drupal\Component\Yaml\YamlInterface
+   */
+  protected $yaml;
+
   public static function getInfo() {
     return array(
       'name' => 'FileStorage controller operations',
@@ -24,6 +32,7 @@ public static function getInfo() {
 
   function setUp() {
     parent::setUp();
+    $this->yaml = new Yaml();
     $this->storage = new FileStorage($this->configDirectories[CONFIG_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY]);
     $this->invalidStorage = new FileStorage($this->configDirectories[CONFIG_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY] . '/nonexisting');
 
@@ -33,7 +42,7 @@ function setUp() {
 
   protected function read($name) {
     $data = file_get_contents($this->storage->getFilePath($name));
-    return Yaml::parse($data);
+    return $this->yaml->parse($data);
   }
 
   protected function insert($name, $data) {
diff --git a/core/modules/layout/layouts/static/one-col/one-col.yml b/core/modules/layout/layouts/static/one-col/one-col.yml
index ea550ca..991e380 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout/layouts/static/one-col/one-col.yml
+++ b/core/modules/layout/layouts/static/one-col/one-col.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-title: One column
-category: Columns: 1
+title: 'One column'
+category: 'Columns: 1'
 template: one-col
 regions:
   content:
-    label: Middle column
+    label: 'Middle column'
     type: content
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/core/modules/layout/layouts/static/twocol/two-col.yml b/core/modules/layout/layouts/static/twocol/two-col.yml
index e6c435e..4ecfcb8 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout/layouts/static/twocol/two-col.yml
+++ b/core/modules/layout/layouts/static/twocol/two-col.yml
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
-title: Two column
-category: Columns: 2
+title: 'Two column'
+category: 'Columns: 2'
 template: two-col
 stylesheets:
   - two-col.css
 regions:
   first:
-    label: Left side
+    label: 'Left side'
     type: content
   second:
-    label: Right side
+    label: 'Right side'
     type: aside
diff --git a/core/modules/layout/lib/Drupal/layout/Plugin/Derivative/Layout.php b/core/modules/layout/lib/Drupal/layout/Plugin/Derivative/Layout.php
index f313b5a..ec779a4 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout/lib/Drupal/layout/Plugin/Derivative/Layout.php
+++ b/core/modules/layout/lib/Drupal/layout/Plugin/Derivative/Layout.php
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
 use DirectoryIterator;
 use Drupal\Component\Plugin\Derivative\DerivativeInterface;
-use Drupal\Core\Config\FileStorage;
+use Drupal\Component\Yaml\Yaml;
 
 /**
  * Layout plugin derivative definition.
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ public function getDerivativeDefinitions(array $base_plugin_definition) {
    */
   protected function iterateDirectories($dir, $provider) {
     $directories = new DirectoryIterator($dir);
+    $yaml = new Yaml();
     foreach ($directories as $fileinfo) {
       if ($fileinfo->isDir() && !$fileinfo->isDot()) {
         // Keep discovering in subdirectories to arbitrary depth.
@@ -102,9 +103,8 @@ protected function iterateDirectories($dir, $provider) {
         // Declarative layout definitions are defined with a .yml file in a
         // layout subdirectory. This provides all information about the layout
         // such as layout markup template and CSS and JavaScript files to use.
-        $directory = new FileStorage($fileinfo->getPath());
         $key = $provider['provider'] . '__' .  $fileinfo->getBasename('.yml');
-        $this->derivatives[$key] = $directory->read($fileinfo->getBasename('.yml'));
+        $this->derivatives[$key] = $yaml->parse(file_get_contents($fileinfo->getRealPath()));
         $this->derivatives[$key]['theme'] = $key;
         $this->derivatives[$key]['path'] = $fileinfo->getPath();
         $this->derivatives[$key]['provider'] = $provider;
diff --git a/core/modules/layout/tests/layouts/static/one-col/one-col.yml b/core/modules/layout/tests/layouts/static/one-col/one-col.yml
index 9048e14..317b3f0 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout/tests/layouts/static/one-col/one-col.yml
+++ b/core/modules/layout/tests/layouts/static/one-col/one-col.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-title: Single column
-category: Columns: 1
+title: 'Single column'
+category: 'Columns: 1'
 template: one-col
 regions:
   middle:
-    label: Middle column
+    label: 'Middle column'
     type: content
diff --git a/core/modules/layout/tests/themes/layout_test_theme/layouts/static/two-col/two-col.yml b/core/modules/layout/tests/themes/layout_test_theme/layouts/static/two-col/two-col.yml
index 01b9e86..f8b02bd 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout/tests/themes/layout_test_theme/layouts/static/two-col/two-col.yml
+++ b/core/modules/layout/tests/themes/layout_test_theme/layouts/static/two-col/two-col.yml
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
-title: Two column
-category: Columns: 2
+title: 'Two column'
+category: 'Columns: 2'
 template: two-col
 stylesheets:
   - two-col.css
 regions:
   left:
-    label: Left side
+    label: 'Left side'
     type: content
   right:
-    label: Right side
+    label: 'Right side'
     type: aside
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/core/modules/user/tests/modules/user_test_views/test_views/views.view.test_user_uid_argument.yml b/core/modules/user/tests/modules/user_test_views/test_views/views.view.test_user_uid_argument.yml
index cdb3ca9..d162246 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/tests/modules/user_test_views/test_views/views.view.test_user_uid_argument.yml
+++ b/core/modules/user/tests/modules/user_test_views/test_views/views.view.test_user_uid_argument.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ display:
           table: users
           field: uid
           title_enable: true
-          title: %1
+          title: '%1'
           plugin_id: user_uid
     display_plugin: default
     display_title: Master