diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index a40b9756..957756ce 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -31,11 +31,11 @@ matrix:
         - php: '7.0'
         # aliased to a recent 7.2.x version
         - php: '7.2'
-        # aliased to a recent hhvm version
-        - php: 'hhvm'
+        # bleeding edge PHP
+        - php: 'nightly'
 
     allow_failures:
-        - php: 'hhvm'
+        - php: 'nightly'
 
 # Use this to prepare the system to install prerequisites or dependencies.
 # e.g. sudo apt-get update.
@@ -46,6 +46,9 @@ matrix:
 # e.g. copy database configurations, environment variables, etc.
 # Failures in this section will result in build status 'errored'.
 before_script:
+    # Speed up build time by disabling Xdebug.
+    - phpenv config-rm xdebug.ini || echo 'No xdebug config.'
+    # Set up temporary paths.
     - export PHPCS_DIR=/tmp/phpcs
     - export SNIFFS_DIR=/tmp/sniffs
     # Install CodeSniffer for WordPress Coding Standards checks.